The office of Justin Trudeau defended the Prime Minister's residence spending approximately $55,000 annually on grocery purchases billed to taxpayers. According to documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Mr. Trudeau and his predecessor Stephen Harper listed an average of $54,494 annually on "varied food expenses" paid by taxpayers after the usual reimbursement.

The Prime Minister's office said the household expenses are reimbursed to the government's coffers at a fixed rate and not based on the price of each item due to a policy dating back to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Company spokesperson Sisley said, "According to a long-standing practice in place since 1985, the Prime Minister reimburses amounts related to food based on data from Statistics Canada on household spending, which is adjusted using the Consumer Price Index to account for inflation." He also reimburses internet and express mail fees for personal correspondence."

The official residence of Mr. Trudeau spent more than $12,000 on groceries, dining, and boutique goods in just one month in 2021, as previously reported by True North.

Hundreds of receipts and invoices issued by the Privy Council Office showed that from March to September of last year, the average monthly food cost for Trudeau's household was $7,861.

Mr. Trudeau’s household expenses for his family of five between 2015 and March 2022 amounted to $345,230, averaging $57,538 annually.

Mr. Trudeau has spent more than $1,000 on bottled spring water from Flowa since September 2020.

Franco Terrazano, Federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to immediately explain to taxpayers how they incur such a huge bill and what value taxpayers get for all this money. For his predecessor’s family, the net grocery bill between 2007 and 2015 cost taxpayers $417,745, or an average of $52,218.

The unpaid expenses for the fiscal year 2013 exceeded $58,879 during Mr. Harper’s tenure. The Privy Council Office said no records were kept for household expenses before 2006.

The report comes at a time when food prices in Canada have risen to their highest level in 41 years, increasing by 11.4 percent compared to last year. Prices for grains, including baby foods, rose by 17 percent, while the cost of tea and coffee increased by 16 percent, according to the latest report by Statistics Canada. Edited by: Yusra Bamtarf