Carney’s in-flight menu includes fine wine, braised beef and ‘luxury’ butter: Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives at Sydney Airport on March 3, 2026. Photo by SAEED KHAN /AFP via Getty Images

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Your grocery list this week probably didn’t include “luxury Normandy butter cups” or beef tenderloin, and you probably opted for the $25 bottle of red wine instead the one more than twice the price, but the Canadian Taxpayers Federation wants you to know that “Prime Minister Mark Carney and his entourage” are enjoying such luxuries when they fly internationally.

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The advocacy group dug into House of Commons order paper questions and learned that just shy of $200,000 was spent feeding Carney and government officials who accompanied him on just three out-of-country flights in 2025.

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Franco Terrazzano, the CTF’s federal director, contended that’s more than an average Canadian family will have to spend to feed themselves for a decade.

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“When the government is paying more than a billion dollars a week to cover interest charges on the debt, it’s time to stop irresponsible overspending on luxuries like gourmet in-flight dining,” he said in a press release.

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According to the latest Canada Good Price Report, the average family of four is expected to spend $17,571.79 on food this year, which, over ten years, is roughly $180,000.

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Of the three overseas excursions, the most costly from a catering standpoint was the May 16-19 trip to Rome and Vatican City last September — where the devout Catholic and his wife, Diana Fox Carney, attended the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV — which rang in at almost $94,000.

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Menu items included veal escalope, herb and smoked Gouda omelets, crème brûlée and chocolate mousse.

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A trip to the U.K. two months prior to strengthen economic and security ties — just two days after being sworn in — ended with a catering invoice for over $52,610 sent to Ottawa.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in London on March 17. Photo by Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP, Pool

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One option on the way to London was red wine braised beef with a choice of edamame ragu or pearl onion and rosemary roasted red potatoes, while the return menu featured pan-seared salmon with lemon and herb couscous and broccoli.

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On their trip to and from to the Netherlands last June for the NATO leaders’ summit, the total catering cost for Carney and 57 others on the Royal Canadian Air Force Airbus 330 was roughly $49,000 from a menu that offered beef tenderloin, Scottish salmon and the “luxury Normandy butter cups.”

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On the subject of wine, Carney and his fellow passengers had a choice between a selection of four on each flight — two red and two white — all of them from wineries in Ontario or B.C.

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A 2021 chardonnay from Inniskillin Montague Vineyard Chardonnay, reasonably priced at around $30 across Canada, was available on every flight, but more red options included Le Clos Jordanne Le Grand Clos Pinot Noir, which retails for $55 at the LCBO or the Meyer Family Vineyards Pinot Noir which commands a $56 price tag.