DND says $1M spent on in-flight meals for CANFORCE ONE, but numbers don't add up
· Toronto Sun
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OTTAWA — Just as Prime Minister Mark Carney touches down in Paris to begin another overseas trip, newly released documents show the Department of National Defence spent nearly $ 1 million on in-flight catering aboard CANFORCE ONE during the PM’s first 12 months in office — but questions remain on the accuracy of those numbers.
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In a response to an order paper question (OPQ) filed by Conservative New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury MP Scot Davidson, the Department of National Defence says they spent $962,633.24 across 14 trips aboard CANFORCE ONE between March 2025 and March 2026.
Those figures represent an 83% increase from figures contained in a previous OPQ response viewed by the Toronto Sun earlier this year — but the number provided by DND in their question response don’t match official invoices previously obtained by the Sun.
Two flights saw over $159K catering
The costliest catering was aboard the PM’s Jan. 13 to 22 trip to Beijing, Qatar and Switzerland — a trip that not only saw Carney become the first Canadian PM to visit China in nearly a decade, but also when Carney delivered his much-talked-about speech at the 56th World Economic Forum in Davos .
That trip, according to DND’s numbers, cost $175,248.48 to feed the flight’s 73 passengers — an average cost of $2,400 per passenger.
The PM’s November trade mission to the United Arab Emirates and visit to the G20 Leaders’ Summit in South Africa saw DND spending $159,781.24, an average of $2,853.23 for each of the flight’s 56 passengers.
Other flight costs include $98,853.99 spent on the PM’s late February trip to India, Australia and Japan (92 passengers,) $93,780.18 to attend to last May’s inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV (68 passengers,) $86,096.12 for the PM’s March 2026 flight to Norway to attend the Canada-Nordic Summit (64 passengers,) and $74,986.89 for the PM’s Oct. 2025 trip to Singapore (63 passengers.)
“Catering costs are recorded as a total gross amount per flight leg and do not reflect any reimbursements that may have been received afterwards,” read a note attached to the OPQ response, adding that costs “remain provisional until full reconciliation of invoices is complete.”
Costs in OPQ response don’t align with invoices
These numbers, however, do not match figures contained in official catering invoices obtained by the Toronto Sun.
The Sun reported on these invoices in May , obtained via an access-to-information request, detailing catering costs and menus for three separate CANFORCE ONE flights.
For the PM’s March 2025 trip to London, i nvoices submitted to the Royal Canadian Air Force by UK-based Royalblue Executive Catering documented £28,291.00 (nearly $53,000) spent on in-flight catering that included grilled chicken breast, pan-seared salmon and beef stroganoff, but the Department of National Defence insists only $40,034.52 was spent on food for that trip.
Similar discrepancies appear for the PM’s May 2025 trip to Rome to attend the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV, invoices show the RCAF was billed 53,127 euros ($85,431.67) by a European provider and $13,601 by Gate Gourmet Canada — a total of $99,503.53 — but the OPQ response put the costs at $93,780.
Costs provided for the PM’s June 2025 flight to attend the 20th Canada-EU Summit in Brussels were closer to what the invoices indicate, with DND insisting the costs were $48,949.88, while catering invoices put meal service costs at just over $49,000.
The Sun reached out to DND for comment on the discrepancies.
As well, DND declined requests to provide information on menus and itemized costs in their OPQ response, claiming “records don’t capture meals and beverages by individual menu items.”
But those same access-to-information documents from May contained detailed invoices, menus and even wine lists printed on 437 Transport Squadron letterhead, outlining meal choices available to passengers on board.
An RCAF-provided lunch menu for the PM’s March 2025 London trip offered passengers a choice between grilled chicken breast with buttered carrots and tarragon mustard sauce and red wine braised beef, with blueberry cheesecake for dessert.
In a statement, Tory Finance Critic Jasraj Singh Hallan said little came from the PMO’s heavy investment in in-flight nibbles.
“Despite not negotiating a single new trade agreement across 14 international trips, taxpayers were still charged $962,633.24 in Carney’s first year alone,” he said.
“That’s enough to feed a family of four for almost 55 years after the annual grocery bill rose to $17,600 this year.”