For a prime minister who promised to reconnect Ottawa with ordinary Canadians, Mark Carney seems to spend an awful lot of time somewhere else.Since taking office in March 2025, Carney has taken 16 international trips to 24 countries, spending roughly 68 days abroad in his first year. Nearly ten weeks outside the country, while Canadians are dealing with rising costs, housing shortages, strained healthcare, and growing frustration with Ottawa.Travel is part of the job for any prime minister. Canada is a trading nation, and diplomacy matters. But there’s a difference between representing the country abroad and appearing to be missing from it at home.The travel schedule tells a story.Carney’s first foreign trip came just days after taking office, heading to Paris and London. In May, he travelled to Washington and then to Rome and Vatican City. In June, he was off again for meetings in Brussels and The Hague.By August, he was on a multi-country swing through Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and Latvia..September brought more travel: Mexico, then New York for the United Nations, followed by another stop in London.October saw him back in Washington and then in Egypt.Late October into November meant another long stretch overseas through Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea. Shortly afterward, he travelled again to the United Arab Emirates and South Africa.The new year didn’t slow things down. January brought a trip to Paris, followed almost immediately by a nine-day run through China, Qatar, and Switzerland.Then came a ten-day Indo-Pacific tour covering India, Australia, and Japan.All told, that’s about 68 days abroad in less than a year..For comparison, Justin Trudeau spent about half that amount of time abroad during his first year in office. Even Stephen Harper — who was hardly shy about international diplomacy — logged fewer days overseas in his first year.The issue isn’t that Canada’s prime minister travels. The issue is what seems to be happening back home while he’s gone.Housing affordability is still crushing younger Canadians trying to buy their first home. Grocery prices remain high. Provinces are fighting with Ottawa over health transfers and resource policy. Western alienation hasn’t gone away.These are problems that require political attention and leadership inside Canada.And leadership requires presence.Prime ministers don’t spend every hour in the House of Commons, but their visibility there still matters. Question period is where the government answers to Canadians through their elected representatives..When the prime minister is overseas week after week, that accountability becomes harder to see.There’s also something symbolic about it. Canadians want to see their leader travelling across this country as much as around the world — visiting communities, meeting workers, hearing concerns directly.It’s difficult to convince Canadians you understand their daily struggles if they mostly see you stepping off another international flight.To be clear, some of Carney’s trips have a real purpose. NATO coordination, economic talks in Asia, and meetings with allies are important.But governing Canada shouldn’t start to look like a side activity between global conferences..Right now, Carney risks giving the impression that Canada itself is becoming just another stop on his travel schedule.No one is suggesting the prime minister stop travelling entirely. But the balance feels off.Nearly ten weeks abroad in the first year of office raises a reasonable question. Is the prime minister spending enough time in the country he was elected to lead?If Carney wants to avoid being seen as an absentee leader, the solution isn’t complicated.Spend more time in Canada.
