Protecting Prince Harry and his family during visits to Canada cost Canadian taxpayers more than $334,000 over a period of less than four years, CBC News has learned.
Records obtained by CBC News from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police under the Access to Information Act show that security related to Harry’s visits between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018 cost taxpayers $182,430. That sum covered things like overtime and travel costs but not the salaries of police officers.
In January 2020 — as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex publicly contemplated living in Canada part of the year — the RCMP estimated that protecting them and their son while in this country could cost taxpayers nearly $33,000 a month.
According to the Court Circular, which outlines the public activities of members of the Royal Family, Prince Harry had one public visit to Canada during 2017 and 2018 — a week-long trip to attend events in Toronto. The events included the Invictus Games — which Harry founded — a WE Day celebration and a reception for young people who received Duke of Edinburgh gold awards.
Prince Harry spoke at a We Day Toronto event in September 2017 during a week-long visit to Canada to attend the Invictus Games. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)
Prince Harry’s appearance at the Invictus Games drew widespread media attention because it was one of the first times he was seen in public with Meghan Markle, an American actress living in Toronto.
The pair, who met in July 2016 in London, were engaged in November 2017 and married in May 2018, when Prince Harry was granted the title of Duke of Sussex.
That wasn’t Prince Harry’s only visit to Toronto during that period. In April 2017, paparazzi photographers waiting outside Markle’s home in Toronto’s Seaton Village neighbourhood captured images of Prince Harry arriving at her home during a private, unannounced trip.
People watch the Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto on Saturday, May 19, 2018. (Marta Iwanek/Canadian Press)
It’s not known how many times Prince Harry came to Canada to visit Markle. The RCMP refused to provide a breakdown to explain how it spent $182,430 to protect him during 2017 and 2018. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s office referred questions to the RCMP.
Spokespeople for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell organization did not respond to questions and interview requests from CBC News.
Pursued by the press
Alastair MacPherson, a photographer who has done freelance work for Splash News, said photographers started hanging out around Markle’s house when news came out in the fall of 2016 that she and Harry were dating.
“Before everyone knew that they were seeing each other, he was here for some time around Halloween and they went to some Halloween party,” he said. “After that happened, people found out that they might be seeing each other and that’s when the reporters and photographers would have been trying to find him.”
When Prince Harry visited Markle, six black SUVs with members of Prince Harry’s British security detail could be seen on the residential street, said MacPherson.
Pierre-Yves Borduas, a former deputy commissioner of the RCMP who is now president of PY Safety, said RCMP officers would have accompanied the British security officers.
Prince Harry made a private trip to Toronto in December 2016, detouring to visit Markle on his way home from an official visit of seven Caribbean countries. He also travelled to Toronto on a public trip earlier that year in May — two months before he met Markle — to announce that the 2017 Invictus Games would be held there.
The additional costs to the RCMP for Prince Harry’s security during that period totalled $52,978.
The RCMP incurred $5,726 in costs to protect the Duke and Duchess of Sussex between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019 and no costs at all from Jan. 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016.
Canada’s image is on the line: security expert
When someone like Prince Harry travels to Canada for official duties or a private visit, the RCMP has to assess the potential threats to their safety and provide them with protection, said Borduas.
“They still have responsibility, because what if something would happen to that very important person in our country?” he said. “The ripple effect … could have a negative reflection on our country and how [seriously] we are taking the security of these types of individuals that are enjoying the hospitality of our country.”
While Borduas said he couldn’t explain how the RCMP spent $182,430 in a single year to protect Prince Harry, he said protecting him during the highly publicized, well-attended Invictus Games would cost more than security for a low-profile, private visit.
Once Harry stepped back from royal duties, the RCMP’s obligation to provide protection during his trips to Canada would have ended and responsibility for his security would have transitioned to other providers, said Borduas.
In the United Kingdom, a committee decides who warrants taxpayer-funded security, and being a member of the Royal Family does not guarantee round-the-clock protection. In March 2021, the Daily Mail reported that while royals like the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William get 24/7 publicly funded security, others like Princess Anne and Prince Edward only get taxpayer-paid security when performing official duties or engagements. Still others, like Prince Harry’s cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who have fewer official duties, have to pay for their own security.
‘This has the potential to cost us huge’
In the heavily redacted e-mails obtained by CBC News, the prospect of providing security for a member of the Royal Family living part of the year in Canada loomed large for people like Assistant Commissioner Bernadine Chapman, who headed the national division that provides protection for VIPs.
“Media is on this like a hot potato … so lots of coverage of the potential of the royals to spend half their time in Canada now, as an independent couple,” she wrote on Jan. 10, 2020. “Media spin is about the cost to Canadians … (Redacted) … We are having a greater conversation next week on the go forward on this. This has the potential to cost us huge!”
In the end, protecting the Sussexes during their Christmas in Canada until Feb. 27, 2020 cost the RCMP more than $93,000 — part of the $334,000 total.
In a briefing note to then-minister of public safety Bill Blair to explain its decision to tell the Metropolitan Police in early January of 2020 that it was going to end protective policing services for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the RCMP made a distinction between private and official visits by the couple.
“The Sussex family’s stay in Canada is of a private nature and, to date, there have been no official outings wherein the Duke and Duchess are representing the Queen,” the force wrote. “There is no indication of either the Duke or Duchess participating in any official capacity for the Crown in Canada in the next two months. Should this change, however, the RCMP will assess and provide security accordingly.”
Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry watch a flypast of Royal Air Force aircraft over Buckingham Palace in London on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. (Matt Dunham/The Associated Press)
The couple’s decision later that month to step back from their roles as senior members of the Royal Family also played a role in the RCMP’s assessment, according to the briefing note.
“Family members on private visits to Canada are eligible to receive RCMP protective policing services in alignment with the RCMP’s assessment of threat/risk, but this is a reflection of their official status within the Royal Family,” said the note. “As per the statement from Buckingham Palace on January 18, 2020, the Duke and Duchess ‘will no longer use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.'”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation — which first revealed the cost of RCMP security for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Christmas in Canada — says it wants to see more transparency about where taxpayers’ money went.
“This isn’t just a few dollars and cents,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazanno. “This is thousands and thousands of dollars that are being billed to taxpayers. So certainly we deserve an explanation and certainly we deserve full transparency.”
Elizabeth Thompson can be reached at elizabeth.thompson@cbc.ca
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
