Author: Alex Dhaliwal
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau continues to receive regular RCMP protection, including during personal travel, media sources have revealed.
However, the RCMP would neither confirm nor deny whether Trudeau, 54, currently receives protection. They also would not disclose its cost, staffing or deployment details.
“Protective decisions are based strictly on assessed security needs, not personal preferences or activities,” the RCMP told the National Post.
Some Trudeau trips could require as many as four officers, with concerts potentially requiring advance scouting and threat assessments, according to media reports.
Since leaving politics, Trudeau has travelled the world, including extravagant junkets to Switzerland, Italy, Chicago and Davos.
His relationship with Katy Perry has also taken him from Paris and Japan to Coachella and European festivals, with the couple seen most recently in southern France on vacation.
It remains unclear which of those trips, if any, involved RCMP protection.
Former RCMP deputy commissioner Pierre-Yves Bourduas said Trudeau’s high-profile relationship could complicate his protection, while Perry’s private security cannot replace the RCMP.
“We must take full responsibility for the protection of the former prime minister,” Bourduas said.
Sitting prime ministers receive 24/7 RCMP protection through its VIP Protection Detail, while former prime ministers are offered security they can decline. Any RCMP salaries, overtime, and travel costs are taxpayer-funded.
CBC reported in 2023 that protecting Trudeau and his family cost more than $30 million annually — over twice the inflation-adjusted cost for Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin.
Former prime ministers have been offered RCMP protection since Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, left office. Protection is determined according to assessed threats and security requirements.