Prime Minister Mark Carney billed $524K on in-flight catering during first year as PM
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One flight from Ottawa to Washington spent 11 times more on in-flight meals than what the RCAF spent on fuel
Published Apr 10, 2026 • Last updated Apr 10, 2026 • 4 minute read
OTTAWA — Mark Carney’s first year as prime minister saw over half a million dollars spent on in-flight catering aboard CANFORCE ONE.
And one trip from Ottawa to Washington, taking the PM to a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, saw the prime ministerial aircraft pay over 11 times more on food than what was spent on fuel.
Those numbers come courtesy of data contained within order paper questions (OPQ) filed in the House of Commons, which show the PMO billed taxpayers $524,815.04 across 28 separate trips between March 2025 and February 2026.
“Carney billed more money for airplane food in one year than an average Canadian family will spend on groceries in about 30 years,” Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, told the Toronto Sun.
“I guess one way to beat the high cost of groceries in Canada is to take government work trips and bill taxpayers for expensive airplane food.”
Indeed, the 2026 Food Price Report puts the average annual grocery costs for a family of four at $17,571.79 — a $1,000 increase from 2025, thanks to Canada’s projected 2026 food inflation of between four and six per cent.
$158K spent on one trip, $21K spent on 2-hour flight to DC
For most business and personal travel, the prime minister customarily relies on a fleet of aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force.
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Bombardier Challenger 650 business jets operated by 412 Transport Squadron, based out of Ottawa International Airport, are largely used for domestic trips, while international flights are handled by 437 Transport Squadron at CFB Trenton, who maintain a fleet of newly-acquired CC-330 Huskies — military versions of the Airbus A330-200 airliners which replaced the now-obsolete CC-150 Polaris transport planes.
The costliest trip for in-flight catering was the PM’s visit to the United Arab Emirates and the G20 leaders summit in Johannesburg, where a total of $158,986.43 was spent just on food.
According to a note attached to the OPQ, the Department of National Defence said catering costs “include the cost of food, non-alcoholic beverages, and associated fees, including catering handling and delivery, storage, cleaning and disposal of international waste, airport taxes, administrative fees, security charges, and local taxes.”
Fifty-five people accompanied the PM on that trip, including Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, various PMO and Privy Council Office (PCO) staffers, official photographers Lars Hagberg and Daniel Pereira, and two external advisors.
None of the 55 names listed on the passenger manifest included members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery.
Tens of thousands of dollars spent on feeding flights to Washington
Despite the flight taking less than two hours, big bucks were also spent on trips between Ottawa and Washington, D.C.
On the PM’s first official visit to Washington, D.C., on May 5, $21,158 was spent on in-flight catering, with no information provided on who else was on the trip.
For the PM’s second Washington visit, taking place five months later that October, the PMO billed $16,824.65 for in-flight refreshments for the 55 people who tagged along on the CC-330 Husky — nearly 11 times more than what that trip cost in fuel.
Passenger manifests for that trip listed a slate of cabinet ministers, PMO and PCO staffers, and a delegation from the Parliamentary Press Gallery.
Other pricey flights included $60,268.31 spent on the PM’s first international trip from March 17 to 18 last year, attending a 30-minute audience with the King and a sit-down with UK PM Keir Starmer.
That trip took place just days after Carney was sworn in as PM.
Attending Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass at the Vatican came with a $93,780.18 catering bill — a trip where Carney was accompanied by a delegation of Catholic MPs and Indigenous leaders.
The PM’s June 22-25, 2025, trip to Brussels to attend the 20th Canada‑EU Leaders’ Summit cost $49,043.37 in airplane food, while the two-day trade mission to Mexico City came with a $33,903.37 in-flight catering bill
Invitations for comment to the PMO by the Toronto Sun went unacknowledged by press time.
Not all information disclosed
Requests to disclose which hotels officials stayed at, or how much was spent on lodging, were withheld by the RCMP, citing security concerns, and unlike previous releases on in-flight catering, details on the menu were also not included.
A contributing factor for the furor kicked up over Governor General Mary Simon’s infamous overseas trips concerned the menu — including beef wellington served with red wine jus, $190 fresh fruit platters and $150 for lemon and lime slices served during her 2022 trip to the Middle East that saw $100,000 spent on airline food.
Fallout from that trip prompted hearings by the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO), as well as reforms, including streamlining in-flight meals on government aircraft, and proactive disclosures.
Conservative Ethics Critic Michael Barrett told the Sun there’s no justification for these expenses.
“Mr. Carney and the Liberals need to explain to Canadians why they feel they are entitled to wine and dine themselves in luxury while Canadians continue to line up at food banks in record numbers, food inflation is the highest in the G7, and the Liberals continue to refuse to take the tax off at the pump to save Canadians $.25 a litre,” he said.
With the cost-of-living crisis making life increasingly unaffordable, Terrazzano said Canadians have every reason to be outraged.
“The government told taxpayers it would cut down on these extravagant international trips, but spending half a million dollars on airplane food doesn’t exactly scream fiscal responsibility,” he said.
“The government is more than $1 trillion in debt, Carney told Canadians he would save money and he needs to stop spending so much on these trips.”
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