Outcry after Canadian politicians confess to ignoring holiday travel advice

As winter descended over Canada and coronavirus case numbers rose, officials begged residents to remain home over the Christmas holidays.

But a string of politicians at federal or provincial levels have admitted to having taken vacations outside of the country, prompting outrage across the country and raising fears that their behaviour could undermine confidence in Canada’s fight against the pandemic.

Ontario’s finance minister last week resigned after taking a secret Caribbean vacation to St Barts, and attempting to cover his tracks on social media.

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Since then, however, more national and provincial lawmakers have confessed to breaching travel advice.

In Alberta – the province with the highest rate of active coronavirus cases – at least eight members of the governing United Conservative party (UCP) and senior aides have admitted to traveling abroad.

Tracy Allard, minister of municipal affairs and a key official responsible for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in the province, is facing calls to resign after a family trip to Hawaii.

Allard has since apologized for the trip, but over the weekend, frustrated residents hung a plastic leis outside the door of her constituency office, with a sign that said: “Welcome Back, #AlohaAllard.”

Alberta’s premier, Jason Kenney, has so far resisted punishing any party members or staff for the trips, telling reporters “there is no public health order or legal barrier” barring vacations, despite government messaging that Albertans avoid all non-essential travel.

His own chief of staff, Jamie Huckabay, visited the UK over the holidays, returning via the US because flights between the UK and Canada have been suspended over the variant Covid strain first detected in the UK.

Over the weekend #ResignKenney trended in Canada as political opponents on the left seized on Kenney’s refusal to dole out punishments.

“This is a complete failure of leadership,” said the New Democratic (NDP) leader, Rachel Notley.

Even right-of-centre newspapers have condemned the premier.

“The moral authority and credibility that the Kenney government must wield in convincing Albertans to obey public-health recommendations are now severely diminished by the apparent double-standard followed by UCP politicians and staffers,” said an editorial in the Edmonton Journal.

More broadly, the violation of rules without consequence risks undermining a sense of collective action in fighting the virus, said political scientist Lori Turnbull.

“Does the government actually believe their own messaging? Do they think that it’s okay to travel? Do they not think that the guidelines are worth following?” she said. “It’s not about one person using bad judgment. It’s a systemic lack of adherence to the guidelines that the government itself is putting out.”

On a federal level, two Liberal parliamentary secretaries – Kamal Khera and Sameer Zuberi – have stepped aside from their roles after attending memorials for family members or visiting ailing relatives.

NDP member Niki Ashton has stripped of her shadow critic roles in parliament after travelling to visit her ill grandmother in Greece without telling the leader, Jagmeet Singh.

But even travel out of compassion can send the wrong message when residents have made personal sacrifices during the pandemic, said Turnbull.

“There are people who are living close to family members and who haven’t been able to be with them when they die. Being separated from one another has been one of the most haunting, miserable parts of this pandemic,” she said. “For many it feels politicians are breaking this rule – but we can’t.”

As the federal government warn that a surge in new cases is likely following Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, Turnbull cautioned there could be long-term political fallout.

“Being in elected office is a privileged position. You are holding that office, but it’s not yours. That office is connected to democracy … and have to be really, really careful, because your actions might have lasting consequences.”