Beef tenderloin with demi-glace sauce. Veal escalope with lemon and capers. Panna cotta with berries. 

This is what Prime Minister Mark Carney and his entourage feasted on during a trip to China, Qatar and the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, according to access-to-information recordsobtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. 

“Carney spent more money on airplane food during one trip than the average family will spend on groceries in nine years,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “You know you’re spending too much on airplane food when you could have eaten caviar and truffles at a Michelin-starred restaurant for a fraction of the price.”

Carney and his 72-person entourage spent $175,248 on airplane food during the 10-day international trip from Jan. 13 to 22, 2026. That’s according to a response to an order paper question tabled by member of Parliament Scot Davidson. 

The catering bill works out to about $2,400 per passenger. Carney spent more on airplane food during this trip than on any of his previous trips as prime minister.

The government’s response says some of those costs may be reimbursed. But it hasn’t said which costs, if any, taxpayers got back.

For context, the prime minister spent more money on in-flight catering during this one trip than the average family spends on groceries in nine years.

Carney’s airplane catering cost taxpayers about $300 per passenger for each meal service. That’s significantly more than the cost of lunch at TRB Hutong, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Beijing. Its lunch features confit duck, caviar, scallops, truffles and dessert for about $180 per person. 

The CTF obtained menus for the multi-course gourmet meals served on this trip. 

They had four different beef dishes, according to the flight menus. They included entrecote, which is a “premium cut” of beef, and beef tenderloin with demi-glace sauce. There was also veal escalope with lemon and capers and veal blanquette with cream sauce. 

The menus also featured salmon with coconut curry sauce, truffle risotto, seabass fillet and caprese salad with burrata and pesto. 

For dessert, they had blueberry cheesecake, apple strudel, crème brûlée and chocolate mousse.

During his speech at the WEF meeting in Davos, Carney urged countries to work together.

“If we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu,” Carney said.

“Taxpayers weren’t at the table on Carney’s flight, but we’re stuck with the bill,” Terrazzano said. “The food sounds delicious, but it’s the bill that’s giving taxpayers indigestion.”

It is possible for a prime minister to travel internationally without billing taxpayers six figures for airplane food. During a trip to Poland, Germany and Latvia in August 2025, he travelled with 62 passengers and spent just $9,270 on airplane catering, according to government records.

But the $175,248 bill was far from Carney’s only expensive trip. Carney and his entourage spent about $1 million on airplane food during international trips between March 2025 and March 2026.

And despite repeatedly promising Canadians his government will “spend less,” Carney has even outspent former prime minister Justin Trudeau on airplane food. 

For example, Carney and his entourage spent $93,780 on in-flight catering during a trip to Rome, Italy, in May 2025. When Trudeau and his entourage flew to Italy in 2024, they spent $43,000 on airplane food, records show.