As the son of an iconic former prime minister, current Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau has been closely involved with the party for much of his life, but especially since winning his Papineau seat in the 2008 federal election.
Before he was elected MP, Trudeau was part of the Canadian public speaking circuit and accepted numerous speaking fees from charities. Trudeau continued the circuit until announcing his candidacy for party leadership, when he “voluntarily disclosed” that these engagements had earned him $1.3 million since 2006, “including $277,000 from 17 groups since he was first elected in 2008.” [1]
In an interview with the CBC’s Radio Canada International, Delacourt said there had been an “explosion of stories” about Trudeau’s speaking fees on Friday, June 14, 2013 because the PMO had provided this information to numerous news outlets. Over the weekend that followed, public arguments broke out with members and leadership of the Conservative and New Democratic parties criticizing Trudeau accepting speaking fees from schools and charities.
1. Huffington Post. “Trudeau Repays Government Hundreds of Dollars Related to Speaking Events.” The Huffington Post. 16 January 2014.