Trudeau and Canadian delegation stranded in India for at least one more night as backup plans sought
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will remain in India for another night after the government of Canada’s plane was grounded shortly before the delegation’s departure from the G20 summit in New Delhi Sunday.
Senior government sources say the “earliest” departure for the prime minister and the Canadian delegation is late Tuesday afternoon local time.
- Capital Dispatch: Sign up for the latest in federal politics and why it matters
- Top headlines on Canadian politics, all in one place
The prime minister was set to depart New Delhi Sunday night following the G20 summit. However, during pre-flight checks, the Canadian Armed Forces grounded the CFC001 plane due to a technical issue that could not be fixed overnight.
The Department of National Defence (DND) says the maintenance problem involves a component that will have to be replaced.
“The safety of all passengers is critical to the RCAF and pre-flight safety checks are a regular part of all of our flight protocols,” the department wrote in a statement. “The discovery of this issue is evidence that these protocols are effective.”
Sources say that a technician with the part needed to fix the grounded plane is on a commercial flight to India on Tuesday morning. If that part works, and CFC001 can be fixed, sources say the Canadian delegation may be able to depart for Canada sometime Tuesday late afternoon.
“The Canadian Armed Forces continue their best efforts to get the Canadian delegation home,” the prime minister’s Press Secretary Mohammed Hussain wrote in a statement. “Their latest update shows an earliest departure of Tuesday late afternoon. The situation remains fluid.”
If CFC001 cannot be fixed, sources say the government has contingency plans in place but they may not get the prime minister back to Canada as quickly.
The CFC002 Polaris aircraft departed CFB Trenton for India on Sunday night
and is currently in London, U.K. Senior government sources say the backup plane is expected to arrive in India sometime Tuesday.
The government’s smaller Challenger jet is also in London and is able to fly to India if necessary.
The delay returning home means there’s a chance the prime minister will miss at least part of his Liberal Caucus retreat set to start on Wednesday morning.
This isn’t the first time the Airbus has caused problemsfor Trudeau and his delegation.
In October 2016, the aircraft experienced issues and had to return to Ottawa half an hour after taking off with the prime minister, who was heading to Belgium to sign the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.
Then, in October 2019 as the VIP plane was being towed into a hangar at 8 Wing Trenton, it rolled into a wall. The crash saw the plane out of service for several months as a result of sustaining “significant structural damage to the nose and right engine cowling,” as the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) described it.
In order to take Trudeau to the NATO summit in December 2019, a backup aircraft was used. But, that plane was also grounded in London when the RCAF discovered a problem with one of its engines.
The lifespan of the Polaris fleet, which includes five planes, is expected to end in 2027. According to government officials, extending that timeline any further would be difficult due to the age of the equipment.
The federal government announced in July that it signed a deal worth roughly $3.6 billion to replace the aging fleet.
The updated fleet includes four new and five used aircraft that will be outfitted to feature the same capabilities. The federal government purchased the used planes from a company in Kuwait.
The first of new so-called Husky fleet airplanes arrived in Canada on Aug. 31. The DND says aircrew training among other tasks needs to be completed before the aircraft can be put into service.
The aircraft that arrived in August, which is currently sitting on the tarmac at the Ottawa International Airport with a Government of Canada decal on it, will eventually be used to transport government personnel including the prime minister.
A second Husky aircraft will be grey and arrive in the fall.
DND says the two used CC-330 Husky aircraft are expected to enter into service this fall.
“The current CC-150 Polaris fleet will be retired from service in a phased approach, as the new A330 Husky fleet is integrated and becomes fully operational,” the department of national defence wrote in a statement.
With files from The Canadian Press
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Local Spotlight
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.