Sponsored international travel by MPs drops to 15-year low outside of COVID-19 pandemic
CBC
Members of Parliament last year went on the fewest sponsored international trips in the last 15 years, excluding the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the ethics commissioner's annual report on sponsored travel tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, only 15 MPs accepted international travel paid for by an organization or interest group in 2025, totalling $78,721.
That was down sharply from $230,000 in 2024 and $840,000 in 2023.
Since 2010, the only years MPs accepted less sponsored travel were in 2020 and 2021.
Former Independent MP Kevin Vuong had the second-highest travel tab, racking up $8,962 worth of travel in January and February to Israel and Jamaica.
That was more than the total for the three Conservative MPs who accepted a combined total of $7,518 worth of sponsored travel to England, Greece and the Czech Republic.
NDP MPs accepted $7,742 worth of travel while one Bloc Québécois MP accepted a trip to Germany worth $1,500.
Overall, in 2025 MPs received $54,650 worth of transportation, $15,737 worth of accommodations and $8,302 in other expenses.
Under the rules of the House of Commons, MPs are allowed to accept travel sponsored by organizations and interest groups but they have to declare them and provide receipts to Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein, who then posts them online and submits an annual report to Parliament.
MPs often defend accepting the travel by saying it allows them to attend conferences and visit destinations that will help them with their work as parliamentarians.
Critics often question the value of the trips, likening them to junkets. Groups who sponsor the travel often welcome the opportunity to influence how an MP sees the world or a particular situation.
Over the years, two of the top destinations for sponsored travel have been Taiwan and Israel.
However, Taiwan was absent from the list of sponsored travel in 2025. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada said it decided to resume sponsored trips this year after conducting an internal review.
The office brought five MPs to Taiwan to promote bilateral relations in January.
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