Carney drops $160,000 on airplane food during one trip

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his entourage spent $159,800 on airplane food during a single trip while dining on “chicken chasseur,” Chilean sea bass and “death by chocolate,” according to government records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Carney continues to rack up expensive airplane food bills despite the government promising to reduce costs and other officials spending far less on in-flight catering.

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; Canadian Taxpayers Federation -- Jen Hodgson, Bio and Archives--July 16, 2026 Canadian News, Opinion | Comments | Reader Friendly | Subscribe | Email Us Prime Minister Mark Carney and his entourage spent $159,800 on airplane food during a single trip while dining on “chicken chasseur,” Chilean sea bass and “death by chocolate,” according to government records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Carney continues to rack up expensive airplane food bills despite the government promising to reduce costs and other officials spending far less on in-flight catering. “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, CTF 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?”

Carney and his 55-person entourage spent $159,800 on airplane food during one week-long trip to Athens, Abu Dhabi, Johannesburg and the Canary Islands in November 2025, according to government records tabled in response to an order paper question. That’s $2,850 per passenger. The government’s response says some of those costs may be reimbursed.

But the government has not provided information on what costs, if any, were reimbursed to taxpayers. For context, the prime minister spent more money on in-flight catering during one trip than the average family spends on groceries in nine years. The CTF obtained menus detailing the multi-course, gourmet airplane meals served on Carney’s week-long trip.

For breakfast, passengers could choose between a sundried tomato and mozzarella omelette or French toast with cinnamon and berries. For their mains, they had beef tenderloin with pepper sauce, chicken supreme with morel sauce and “gratin dauphinois” and slow roasted cod with tarragon cream sauce, according to the flight menus the government provided the CTF. For dessert, they had tiramisu, cheesecake and a parfait with two types of chocolate mousse and maraschino cherries, along with a treat described as “death by chocolate.”

All told, Carney spent nearly $1 million on airplane food across 14 flights during his first year as prime minister. “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?” Terrazzano said.

“If other politicians and bureaucrats can travel without racking up these outrageous bills then Carney can spend less while flying abroad.” It is possible for a prime minister to travel internationally without billing taxpayers six figures for airplane food. During a trip to Poland, Germany and Latvia, Carney and his 62-person entourage spent $9,270 on airplane food, according to government records.

Other senior officials also show it’s possible to travel abroad without abusing taxpayers’ money. Former defence minister Bill Blair and his entourage billed taxpayers $2,350 on airplane food during a 12-day trip in 2025, according to government records. The chief of defence staff went to Washington, D.C., with members of the Canadian Armed Forces in 2025.

They billed taxpayers zerodollars for airplane food, according to the records. Yet, Carney routinely spends tens of thousands of dollars on airplane food even after the government promised to save money. Former governor general Mary Simon spent about $100,000 on airplane food during a week-long trip to the Middle East in 2022.

Following public outrage, members of Parliament raked the governor general’s bureaucrats over the coals at a parliamentary committee for this spending, labelling it as “absurd.” The government conceded spending on the governor general’s travel was “problematic,” and promised to take “steps to offset recurrences of high costs associated with the governor general’s travel.” “We are committed to ongoing scrutiny to identify and implement further cost savings,” wrote the government in a report.

After promising to spend less, Carney spent about $60,000 more on airplane food during his week-long trip than Simon spent during her week-long trip to the Middle East. “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. For more information or to schedule interviews, please contact: Franco Terrazzano CTF Federal Director Phone:

403.918.3532 Email: fterrazzano@taxpayer.com View Comments