Lorne Gunter: Does the PM understand the financial strain of Canadians? Don’t count on it

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Can you guess how many groceries are made by Canadian Justin Trudeau Bills Canadians every year at home in Ridou Lodges? And, when he enjoys a formal dinner for the Sultan of Brunei or the Prime Minister of Norway, you don’t have to include his fees. State dinners are customary to be included in taxpayers.

I talk strictly about breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, the Prime Minister and his family, perhaps the occasional staff or cabinet minister, spending on a regular day.

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According to the Canadian food price report, if your family is typical, you will spend about $300 a week or more than $15,000 a year.

And now, thanks to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) freedom of information requirements, we don’t have to guess what Trudeau’s annual food budget is. The Privy Council Office (PCO) was released to the CTF Total in 2022 and 2023.

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Trudeau’s $76,214 taxpayer for 2022 home groceries and $81,428 (2024 figures are not available yet).

That’s more than five times the $1,500 you and your family spend.

My guess is that PM is not buying a lot of nameless Macs and cheese, old pastries and expired lunch meat.

I don’t want to eat well – if he buys groceries with his dime. But he is not.

While the Prime Minister did get some groceries from his public wallets, CTF research shows that Trudeau opened Canadians to the average Canadian, 83% of the food was consumed by his family.

Over two years, Trudeau paid more than $31,000 for groceries ($16,000 a year), which is nearly the same amount that a regular Canadian home would cost, despite the fact that he earned almost five times more.

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To make him know the same pinch at checkout at the grocery store, he has to spend about $80,000 a year.

He did spend about that much money ($80,000), but working Canadians paid for it.

In the two years of issuance record, the total cost of food consumed in the PM’s home was $188,864, of which the taxpayer repaid Trudeau $157,642.

According to Statistics Canada, the average income of Canadians in 2023 is $84,000. This means Trudeau’s amount is only used for groceries in his personal residence, which is equivalent to 96% of the total annual income of the typical four families.

Again, I don’t blame him for his food choices. Actually, I suspect his kitchen staff (also taxpayers pay back), most menu plans, grocery shopping and food preparation. Trudeau has little personal connection with what he buys and serves.

My point is: Why are Canadians in so much trouble supplying food to their family, paying so much to pay Trudeau’s grocery bill? Trudeau makes about $406,000 a year.

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I bet he never had to choose between smaller beef or another night’s grilled cheese sandwich, hockey or soccer registration or gasoline for a family SUV.

Freelance leader Mark Carney is also out of reality with the average Canadian and grocery store.

During the French Language Leadership Debate last Monday, Carney was unable to answer questions about how much Canada spends on groceries on average every month.

(The answer is over $1,300 per month, up from $1,000 per month in 2022.)

It is important for political leaders to understand such facts. Few people will know from personal experience. (Probably no Prime Minister from Sir John A directly paid his own household bill.)

But to make a true leader understand the common people generated by government policies, they should have a clear understanding of the real pressures of family budgets.

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