OTTAWA — Newly released figures reveal that King Charles III’s first official trip to Canada as monarch in May 2025 carried a taxpayer price tag of at least $1.7 million, with costs expected to rise further once all expenses are tallied.
The Department of National Defence (DND) reported spending more than $1.28 million, including nearly $870,000 for a ceremonial Royal Canadian Air Force flyover and more than $330,000 for air and ground transportation. King Charles and Queen Camilla traveled aboard Canada’s new Airbus CC-330 Husky aircraft, typically used for prime ministerial trips abroad. Additional expenses covered 575 meals, 228 snack packs, and hotel rooms both in Ottawa and the U.K.
The Department of Canadian Heritage, responsible for organizing the roughly 24-hour visit, reported preliminary costs of $435,512. These included rehearsal expenses earlier in May, ground transportation, accommodations, staff per diems, and event logistics such as bleachers and table coverings.
The total figure does not yet include costs borne by the RCMP, Public Safety Canada, or other agencies tasked with security and logistical support. Officials say those numbers will be finalized later this fall.
Bloc Québécois MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval, who obtained the figures through an order paper question, condemned the spending. “The decision by Mark Carney’s Liberals to invite King Charles III was as expensive as it was pointless,” he said, calling the monarchy a “colonial, archaic institution.”
King Charles’ visit on May 26–27, 2025 included a ceremonial stop at the National War Memorial, an inspection of the honour guard, and a Speech from the Throne in the Senate, where he emphasized the monarchy’s role as a symbol of unity and continuity in Canada.
The costs echo past royal visits. Charles’ three-day tour of Canada in May 2022 cost taxpayers at least $1.4 million, according to earlier investigations. Analysts note that such expenditures do not include ongoing operating or personnel costs, which push the true bill even higher.
Royal commentator Richard Berthelsen has previously noted: “This is the nature of being a monarchy. You have a royal family that are going to travel, and they are going to do so at the expense of the government.”
With the official bill for the King’s 2025 visit still climbing, the debate over the value of Canada’s ties to the Crown—and the cost of maintaining them—shows no sign of easing.