Trudeau returns from Costa Rica, has 'private meetings' all day

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew back into Canada on Monday after a two-week vacation in Costa Rica, and has continued to take days hidden from the public since his return.

According to the Prime Minister's itinerary, Trudeau took a "Personal Day" on the day that he traveled back from Costa Rica to Canada. On Tuesday, August 16, he was in "Private meetings" all day, and Trudeau will be in "Private meetings" all day again on Wednesday. This means that the last public appearance Trudeau has had was on July 27, when he attended a Holy Mass with Pope Francis in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, Quebec.

The prime minister has taken lengthy vacations in the past, including during huge political scandals like the WE Charity affair in 2020, where he took a week off while the fiasco was at its highest.

In 2020, the prime minister took 50 personal days to himself, while in 2019, he took 91.

At that time, then-Conservative Finance Minister Pierre Poilievre submitted a motion to the Finance Committee that would have suspended Trudeau's pay every time he took days to himself.

Trudeau also infamously decided to go on a vacation on Canada's first-ever Truth and Reconciliation Day after being invited by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nations in British Columbia, whom he brushed off to spend time on the beach in Tofino. This put Trudeau in the uncomfortable position of having to make a public apology, which was followed by a humiliating response from Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Chief Casimir, who said that welcoming Trudeau was "bittersweet."

"When we imagined welcoming Prime Minister Trudeau to our community, it was envisioned that it would be an opportunity for him to interact with a wide array of survivors, intergenerational survivors, and many different First Nations as part of September the 30, the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation," she said.

"Two letters of invitations were sent to his office to participate in our event. For us, it was to show his commitment to rectify the historical wrongs of residential schools, and to grieve with our residential school survivors, whether in-person, or via virtual, pre-recorded greeting, a message for all of us here.

"Instead, in the middle of truth telling, cultural grounding and sharing that unfolded as part of this commemoration... In this harbour, a journalist quietly informed us that the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was on vacation in Tofino," she said.