Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has received a gift from his own likeness about 17 times since becoming prime minister, including once from the president of China.
The portraits, along with countless vases and bottles of wine and Star Wars paraphernalia, are among more than 400 gifts — each worth more than $200 — that Trudeau has declared to the federal ethics commissioner since late 2015.
An analysis of the lists shows that more than 140 gifts were offered to his wife Sophie or their children, while 110 came from heads of state or governments of other countries.
Of these national leaders, Jordan’s king was the most generous, presenting Trudeau with 10 gifts ranging from a handmade leather saddle to “sculptural plant pots” to jars of honey.
The prime minister had to forfeit 20 items, including three of his paintings, because they cost more than $1,000, but he recouped part of the cost of two gifts – a Chinese e-bike and an Inuit engraving – so he could keep them.
A former chief of protocol says that gift-giving is a normal, highly orchestrated bureaucratic affair and that Canadian prime ministers will soon be receiving no gifts at all because of the potential for negative attention.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 1, 2022.
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