Trudeau stayed in $6,000 London hotel suite for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral
Trudeau stayed in $6,000 London hotel suite for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau arrive at Westminster Abbey ahead of the State Funeral of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, in London, Monday Sept. 19, 2022. (Jack Hill/Pool Photo via AP)
OTTAWA -
The Prime Minister's Office says Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, stayed in a $6,000 per night hotel suite while attending the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II.
The stay at the Corinthia London hotel became the subject of public debate last fall when media honed in on the details of the $400,000 trip, after obtaining documents through access-to-information requests.
But Trudeau's office and Global Affairs Canada did not respond to questions last month about who stayed in the expensive river suite, which features a butler service.
Opposition MPs on the government operations committee asked for a copy of all receipts and invoices associated with the trip last month.
The room was booked on Sept. 9, one day after the Queen's death, for Sept. 15 to 20.
In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office says hotel prices surged significantly ahead of the funeral, and many London hotels were sold out as 500 heads of state and their delegations descended on the city.
The hotel's website currently lists the suite at 5,154 British pounds per night, higher than the 4,800 pounds the government was charged in September.
A night in the river suite next month would come out to more than $8,000 at the current exchange rate.
The Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond to questions about the higher prices and why the government chose this particular hotel.
Documents released through access-to-information requests note that the booking was for a three-bed suite. The hotel's website says it has one king-sized bed but there are "connecting rooms available on request."
In November, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre peppered Trudeau with questions in the House of Commons about who stayed in the suite, but he didn't answer.
"The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a significant event for Canadians. Canada was represented by former prime ministers and governors general to pay their respects to the monarch who oversaw almost half of Canada’s time as an independent country," said a press secretary for Trudeau in a written statement Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2023.
A New Democrat MP is trying to convince his colleagues to change the rules that govern the House of Commons in a series of ways he says would instill 'democratic controls' on the prime minister's 'unfettered' powers.
Monday morning, the Public Service Alliance of Canada announced it had reached a 'tentative' agreement with the federal government for the 120,000 picketing Treasury Board workers who, since April 19, had been engaged in one of the largest strikes in Canadian history. Here's a rundown of the developments from Parliament Hill as they happened.
The House committee studying foreign election interference heard from top 2019 and 2021 Liberal and Conservative campaign directors on Tuesday, with party officials from both camps speaking about the need for politicians to come together to address any "legislative gaps" ahead of the next vote.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
U.S President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced updates on a number of cross-border issues, after a day of meetings on Parliament Hill.
Danielle Smith's win in the Alberta election hands her the most starkly divided province confronting any premier in Canada, writes commentator Don Martin.
Special rapporteur David Johnston didn't recommend public inquiry knowing it was a pathetically insufficient response for a foreign democratic assault of this magnitude, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
To frame a few new illustrations on pages tucked inside a passport as proof of a Liberal plot to purge the Canadian historical record seems like a severe stretch, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is a bright former federal prosecutor, who was destined to be a star in Justin Trudeau's cabinet. But in an opinion column on CTVNews.ca, Don Martin argues Mendicino has taken a stunning fall from grace, stumbling badly on important issues just 18 months into the job.
It's the most peculiar of elections with the frontrunner and her main opponent being the same person, writes columnist Don Martin. 'In the looming Alberta showdown, it's Premier Danielle Smith versus her mouth.'
The federal government is proclaiming a National Day Against Gun Violence, to be held annually on the first Friday of June. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and representatives of the Toronto Raptors basketball team are set to discuss the plans today at an event in Toronto.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – were hospitalized after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar. However, many of the children are now being discharged and sent home, according to an update from the hospital.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to assure Canadians that his government is adequately addressing the threat of foreign interference took a hit on Wednesday, when the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside,' a call Johnston quickly rejected.
The latest pre-dawn Russian missile attack on Kyiv killed at least three people Thursday, including a 9-year-old child and her mother, Ukrainian officials said.
Veering away from a default crisis, the House overwhelmingly approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, sending the deal that U.S. President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated to the Senate for swift passage in a matter of days, before a fast-approaching deadline.
Jordan's highly anticipated royal wedding day got underway on Thursday with the surprise announcement that Prince William and his wife Kate had arrived to witness the nuptials of Crown Prince Hussein and his Saudi Arabian bride.
'That '70s Show' star Danny Masterson was led out in handcuffs from a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday and could get 30 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty on two of three counts of rape at his second trial, in which the Church of Scientology played a central role.
A new day for Canadians to mark on the calendar, MPs call on special rapporteur David Johnston to resign, and Canadian consumers are more indebted than ever.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – were hospitalized after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar. However, many of the children are now being discharged and sent home, according to an update from the hospital.
Four Canadian cities have been ranked among the top 50 best for remote work worldwide, according to a new report from Preply, an online learning provider platform
Ontario Provincial Police have arrested a 21-year-old man from Ottawa in connection with the shooting deaths of two teens from Mississauga in Pembroke, Ont. A third teenager, also from Mississauga, was injured.
The powerful sister of North Korean Kim Jong Un on Thursday accused the United States of 'gangster-like' hypocrisy for criticizing her country's failed launch of a military spy satellite and insisted that the North will follow with a successful launch soon.
German prosecutors said Thursday that they will examine objects that were found in a search in Portugal last week for clues regarding the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, but can't yet say whether they are linked to the British girl who went missing in 2007.
Thousands of people are to march in Jerusalem's Pride parade on Thursday, an annual event that is taking place this year under Israel's most right-wing government ever, stacked with openly homophobic members.
Australia's most decorated living war veteran unlawfully killed prisoners and committed other war crimes in Afghanistan, a judge ruled Thursday in dismissing the claims by Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith that he was defamed by media.
Jordan's highly anticipated royal wedding day got underway on Thursday with the surprise announcement that Prince William and his wife Kate had arrived to witness the nuptials of Crown Prince Hussein and his Saudi Arabian bride.
The federal government is proclaiming a National Day Against Gun Violence, to be held annually on the first Friday of June. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and representatives of the Toronto Raptors basketball team are set to discuss the plans today at an event in Toronto.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to assure Canadians that his government is adequately addressing the threat of foreign interference took a hit on Wednesday, when the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside,' a call Johnston quickly rejected.
It's that time of year again where MPs will be sitting until midnight until the House rises in late June, as the federal government pushes to pass as many bills as it can before the summer legislative hiatus. On Wednesday, Government House Leader Mark Holland announced that the Commons will be working late 'every single night … from here until the finish.'
Canada will soon require health warnings to be printed directly on individual cigarettes, making it the first country to implement this kind of measure aimed at reducing tobacco usage.
Navigating health care and dealing with expectations has been tough as she tries to cope with how her life has changed, similar to the experiences of other women who take on the majority of caregiving responsibilities -- an issue highlighted in a report released Thursday by the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
The hottest thing in technology is an unprepossessing sliver of silicon closely related to the chips that power video game graphics. It's an artificial intelligence chip, designed specifically to make building AI systems such as ChatGPT faster and cheaper.
A third man has been charged in the 2002 shooting death of Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay, prosecutors said Tuesday, marking the latest movement in a case that languished for years.
'That '70s Show' star Danny Masterson was led out in handcuffs from a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday and could get 30 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty on two of three counts of rape at his second trial, in which the Church of Scientology played a central role.
Wall Street moved modestly higher early Thursday after the United States House of Representatives approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, avoiding a default crisis.
The Canadian economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of the year and likely expanded again in April, fuelling speculation that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates again.
Confidence on the Scripps National Spelling Bee stage manifests itself in subtle ways, like spellers asking questions even though they know the answers.
Locals call it "watermelon salad." But this delicacy popular in the southern Gaza Strip at this time of year is far from the sweet, refreshing taste the name evokes.
A 15-year-old soccer player has died after suffering severe brain injuries during a post-match brawl with an opposing team at an international youth tournament in Germany over the weekend, officials said Wednesday.
The U.S. government's auto safety agency plans to require that all new passenger cars and light trucks include potentially life-saving automatic emergency braking and meet stricter safety standards within three years.
Ever have a car with a difficult-to-reach seatbelt? This recall is for you. Ford is having to recall 176,000 of its Ford Bronco SUVs, model years 2021 to 2023, because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that drivers and front seat passengers can have difficulty reaching the metal portion of the belt when it is in the retracted position.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau arrive at Westminster Abbey ahead of the State Funeral of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, in London, Monday Sept. 19, 2022. (Jack Hill/Pool Photo via AP)
