Carney's $160,000 in-flight catering bill draws criticism from taxpayers group

Prime Minister Mark Carney's delegation spent nearly $160,000 on in-flight catering during a single overseas trip, according to government records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, prompting renewed criticism over government travel spending.The records show Carney and a 55-member entourage spent $159,800 on meals during a week-long trip to Athens, Abu Dhabi, Johannesburg and the Canary Islands in November 2025.That amounts to roughly $2,850 per passenger."Carney spent more money on airplane food during one trip than the average family will spend on groceries in almost a decade," said Franco Terrazzano, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's federal director."Carney keeps promising to spend less, but if he isn't willing to cut back on airplane food, then what will he spend less on?"The figures were released in response to an Order Paper question tabled in Parliament.The government noted some of the catering costs could ultimately be reimbursed but did not specify how much, if any, taxpayers would recover.Menus obtained by the CTF show passengers were served multi-course meals throughout the trip.Breakfast options included a sundried tomato and mozzarella omelette or French toast with cinnamon and berries.Main courses featured beef tenderloin with pepper sauce, chicken supreme with morel sauce and gratin dauphinois, or slow-roasted cod with tarragon cream sauce.Desserts included tiramisu, cheesecake, a chocolate mousse parfait with maraschino cherries and a dessert identified as "death by chocolate.".According to the CTF, Carney spent nearly $1 million on in-flight catering across 14 flights during his first year as prime minister.Terrazzano questioned how those expenses align with the Liberal government's repeated pledges to reduce spending."Carney says he will spend less and the government told Canadians it would cut down on travel costs, so how can the prime minister justify billing taxpayers six figures for airplane food?" he said.The federation contrasted the trip with other recent government travel.Records show Carney and a 62-person delegation spent $9,270 on in-flight catering during another trip to Poland, Germany and Latvia.Former defence minister Bill Blair and his delegation spent $2,350 on catering during a 12-day overseas trip in 2025.Government records also indicate the Chief of the Defence Staff and accompanying Canadian Armed Forces personnel incurred no in-flight catering costs during an official visit to Washington, D.C.The CTF also compared Carney's expenses to those incurred by former governor general Mary Simon, whose office spent about $100,000 on aircraft catering during a week-long trip to the Middle East in 2022.That spending prompted sharp criticism from MPs at a parliamentary committee, with government officials later acknowledging the costs were "problematic" and committing to strengthen oversight of future travel expenses."We are committed to ongoing scrutiny to identify and implement further cost savings," the government said at the time.According to the CTF, Carney's November 2025 trip exceeded Simon's controversial catering bill by roughly $60,000."It’s possible for the prime minister to travel internationally without billing taxpayers six figures for airplane food, so we need Carney to make sure these types of bills never happen again," Terrazzano said.

Carney's $160,000 in-flight catering bill draws criticism from taxpayers group

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