The Canadian delegation to King Charles III’s coronation spent more than $500,000 for the three-day trip, according to newly released records.
The federal government billed $534,675 in expenses for the trip, according to records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) through an access to information request viewed by The Epoch Times.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, and their respective staff attended the three-day event, for a total of 102 people at a cost of $5,241 each, the records show.
Trudeau’s retinue of 87 staff spent the majority of the funds, with a $305,188 bill from a luxury hotel as well as an additional bill of $61,641 from two other hotels. Simon and her entourage of 15 spent $155,283 on hotels.
The King’s coronation on May 6, saw countries from all over the world send delegations. The CTF questioned Ottawa’s decision to send more than 100 people to the ceremony.
“Did taxpayers really need to pay for 102 people to travel to England, and did they each need to rack up an average bill of $5,000?” asked CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano in a Nov. 28 press release.
The Liberal government had previously come under criticism for its spending on a separate trip to attend a Royal ceremony. According to documents obtained by the Toronto Sun, a large delegation attended Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral in September 2022, spending nearly $400,000 on hotel costs. Included in that tally was $6,000 per night for the luxurious River Suite at the Corinthia Hotel in London.
When questioned by the CTF on who occupied the suite, federal bureaucrats would not disclose the information. After filing an access-to-information request, government officials redacted the names on the files released.
The CTF then launched a legal challenge to force the government to disclose who stayed in the suite. At that point, Mr. Trudeau said the suite had been booked for his personal use.
