Pandemic Reduced Prime Minister's Photographer Travel Costs by 99 Percent

Government Files is The Canada Report’s public-records analysis series examining government documents obtained through Canada’s Access to Information (ATI) and provincial Freedom of Information (FOI) laws. These transparency laws allow members of the public to request internal government records from federal and provincial institutions. This article reviews documents released through those processes and summarizes what the records contain and what they show. While we strive for accuracy, this article represents an analysis and interpretation of the source material. For complete accuracy and full context, readers should review the original documents, which are available in full below.

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In the fiscal year before COVID-19 restrictions took effect, the Privy Council Office spent $35,803.40 on travel expenses for photographers and videographers documenting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. One year later, that figure had collapsed to just $482.21—a decline of 98.7 percent that illustrates how dramatically the pandemic altered the operations of the Prime Minister's Office.

Access to Information records from the Privy Council Office reveal that between April 2018 and April 2022, the government spent $88,867.15 on travel and hospitality expenses for photography and videography staff accompanying the Prime Minister. The documents show a clear before-and-after picture of pandemic impacts on official travel, with spending patterns that mirror the broader shutdown of in-person government activities.

What the Documents Show

The released records break down expenses into nine categories spanning airfare, accommodation, meals, ground transportation, and taxi services. The data covers portions of five fiscal years, from 2018-19 through the first week of April 2022 in fiscal year 2022-23.

The highest spending occurred in 2018-19, when the office recorded $44,371.67 in photographer and videographer travel expenses. This dropped slightly to $35,803.40 in 2019-20, the last full fiscal year before pandemic restrictions began affecting travel in March 2020.

When COVID-19 restrictions took hold, spending plummeted. In 2020-21, total expenses fell to just $482.21. Even as some restrictions eased in 2021-22, spending only partially recovered to $8,209.87—still 77 percent below the pre-pandemic baseline.

The fiscal year 2022-23 shows zero expenses, though this only covers the period up to April 5, 2022, based on the scope of the original ATI request.

Breaking Down the Expenses

Accommodation costs represented the single largest category in pre-pandemic years. In 2018-19, accommodation expenses reached $24,296.22, accounting for 55 percent of that year's total. The following year, accommodation spending dropped to $19,810.34 but still represented the largest line item at 55 percent of the total.

The significant reduction in travel expenses for the Prime Minister's photographer during the pandemic reflects broader fiscal challenges faced by the government, as seen in the recent increase in GST credits aimed at assisting Canadians amid rising inflation.

Airfare formed the second major expense category. The 2018-19 fiscal year saw $4,794.46 in air travel costs for photography staff, rising to $5,300 in 2019-20. Other transportation expenses—likely including rental vehicles and other ground travel—added another $4,594.18 in 2018-19 and $4,669.58 in 2019-20.

Meal expenses, split between domestic and international trip categories, totalled $5,419.73 in 2018-19. International trip meals specifically accounted for $929.59 of this amount, suggesting photographers accompanied the Prime Minister on foreign travel as well as domestic engagements.

The pandemic year of 2020-21 saw the collapse of nearly all spending categories. The only expenses recorded were $143 in other transportation costs, $231 in accommodation, $109 in meals, and nothing in any other category.

The COVID-19 Impact

The spending patterns align precisely with the timeline of pandemic restrictions in Canada. March 2020 saw the beginning of widespread lockdowns and travel restrictions, falling near the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year. The following fiscal year, 2020-21, bore the full impact of these restrictions.

During this period, the Prime Minister conducted most communications from Rideau Cottage, appearing in daily briefings that became a fixture of early pandemic response. With virtually no in-person events, foreign travel suspended, and public appearances limited to outdoor settings near Ottawa, the need for traveling photography staff evaporated almost entirely.

The $482.21 spent in 2020-21 likely covered limited essential travel during brief windows when restrictions eased, or expenses from the very beginning of the fiscal year before the full impact of lockdowns took effect.

By 2021-22, as vaccination rates increased and restrictions began lifting, expenses crept back up to $8,209.87. However, this remained well below pre-pandemic levels, reflecting continued limits on in-person events, international travel, and the scaled-back nature of political activities during the pandemic period.

Context and Broader Operations

These expenses represent only one component of the visual documentation of the Prime Minister's activities. The original ATI request also sought information about costs associated with the Prime Minister's social media accounts, but the released documents contain only the travel and hospitality expenses for photography and videography staff.

The Privy Council Office notes specify that expenditures were identified for photographers and videographers "based on individuals that were known to be performing these duties." This suggests the figures capture dedicated photography staff rather than broader communications team expenses that might incidentally include visual documentation.

Modern prime ministers maintain active visual documentation of their activities for multiple purposes: official government records, media distribution, social media presence, and historical archiving. Photography staff travel with the Prime Minister to capture images for immediate release to media outlets, content for government social media accounts, and documentary purposes.

The pre-pandemic spending levels—averaging roughly $40,000 annually—covered the costs of having professional photographers available for the Prime Minister's extensive travel schedule, which typically includes regular cross-country domestic travel, international summits, bilateral visits, and numerous public appearances.

What's Not in the Documents

The released records focus exclusively on travel and hospitality expenses for photography staff. Several significant elements remain outside the scope of this disclosure.

The documents do not include salary or contract costs for the photographers and videographers themselves—only their travel expenses. The full cost of visual documentation services would therefore be substantially higher than the figures shown here.

Information about social media account costs, which formed part of the original request, does not appear in the released documents. Whether these expenses exist under different budget categories or were determined to fall outside the scope of the request remains unclear.

The records also provide no information about the volume of content produced, the number of events covered, or the specific individuals performing photography duties. While the note indicates expenses were tracked for "individuals that were known to be performing these duties," no names or position details appear in the disclosure.

Equipment costs, editing services, storage and archiving expenses, and other operational costs associated with visual documentation are similarly absent from these records.

Implications for Government Operations

The dramatic spending reduction during the pandemic years offers a concrete illustration of how COVID-19 transformed government operations. The 99 percent decline in photography travel expenses in 2020-21 represents just one measurable indicator of the broader shift to virtual and limited in-person activities.

These figures also provide insight into the operational costs of modern political communication. Maintaining visual documentation of the Prime Minister's activities requires dedicated staff who travel regularly, incurring substantial accommodation, transportation, and meal expenses. The approximately $40,000 in annual pre-pandemic travel costs suggests a significant investment in ensuring professional visual coverage of government activities.

The partial recovery in 2021-22 spending, reaching only 23 percent of pre-pandemic levels, indicates that even as some activities resumed, the nature and scale of in-person government operations had fundamentally changed. Whether spending has since returned to pre-pandemic patterns would require examination of more recent fiscal years beyond the April 2022 cutoff date of this request.

From a transparency perspective, these records demonstrate the trackability of specific operational expenses within government. The detailed breakdown by expense category and fiscal year provides clear accountability for taxpayer-funded activities, even for relatively modest budget items like photography staff travel.

All figures referenced are from the Privy Council Office, request number A-2021-00432, obtained through Access to Information requests. The records document travel and hospitality expenses for photographers and videographers accompanying the Prime Minister from April 2018 to April 2022.