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, more 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.
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."
The prime minister and his wife were the only two who stayed in the suite, his office said.
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.
Banner image: 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. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jack Hill/Pool Photo via AP
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2023.
