Members of parliament (MP) in Canada are able to take sponsored trips abroad so long as the trip “arises from or relates to his or her position.” After the trip, MPs must disclose the following:

  • “the name of the person or organization paying the travel costs”
  • “the name of any person accompanying the Member”
  • “the destination or destinations, the purpose and length of the trip”
  • “the nature of the benefits received and the value”

This information is contained in the Public Registry at the website for the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. It’s also documented in the annual “List Of Sponsored Travel” report released by the commissioner.

I reviewed the registry and found that the Centre For Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) has sponsored trips to “Israel” for at least 73 MPs currently in office, amounting to 22 per cent of all sitting MPs. (The word Israel has quotation marks around it in this article’s body and headline because these trips are often marked as solely to “Israel” even though they include time in areas recognized as being illegally occupied.)

CIJA spent at least $894,000 on these sponsored trips, for an average of $12,257 per trip by MP. Here’s a table listing all of these MPs, when they took their trips and the total value of the “benefits received.” An image version of the table follows for better viewing on mobile and sharing on social media.

Current MPs That Have Taken CIJA-Sponsored Trips To 'Israel'
* Someone accompanied the MP on the trip
Name Constituency Province Party Year Amount ($)
Scott Aitchison Parry Sound—Muskoka Ontario Conservative 2023 13,994
Dan Albas* Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola B.C. Conservative 2016 12,750
John Aldag* Cloverdale—Langley City B.C. Liberal 2022 16,695
Carolyn Bennett Toronto—St. Paul's Ontario Liberal 2008 & 2014 13,269
Luc Berthold Mégantic—L'Érable Quebec Conservative 2023 10,227
James Bezan* Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman Manitoba Conservative 2011 10,781
Maxime Blanchette-Joncas Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques Quebec Bloc Québécois 2023 7,524
Kelly Block* Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek Sask. Conservative 2010 8,451
Kody Blois* Kings—Hants Nova Scotia Liberal 2023 23,930
Valerie Bradford Kitchener South—Hespeler Ontario Liberal 2023 14,007
Blaine Calkins* Red Deer—Lacombe Alberta Conservative 2017 11,492
George Chahal* Calgary Skyview Alberta Liberal 2023 23,744
Adam Chambers* Simcoe North Ontario Conservative 2023 19,190
Martin Champoux* Drummond Quebec Bloc Québécois 2023 18,846
Shaun Chen Scarborough North Ontario Liberal 2023 11,563
Raquel Dancho* Kildonan—St. Paul Manitoba Conservative 2022 14,095
Don Davies* Vancouver Kingsway B.C. NDP 2012 10,677
Sukh Dhaliwal Surrey—Newton B.C. Liberal 2008 8,758
Anju Dhillon Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle Quebec Liberal 2017 9,550
Eric Duncan Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry Ontario Conservative 2022 10,528
Ted Falk* Provencher Manitoba Conservative 2014 12,450
Ed Fast* Abbotsford B.C. Conservative 2010 9,006
Greg Fergus Hull—Aylmer Quebec Liberal 2018 8,696
Andy Fillmore* Halifax Nova Scotia Liberal 2016 10,294
Kerry-Lynne Findlay* South Surrey—White Rock B.C. Conservative 2023 23,883
Rhéal Fortin* Rivière-du-Nord Quebec Bloc Québécois 2023 18,846
Randall Garrison Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke B.C. NDP 2016 7,800
Garnett Genuis* Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan Alberta Conservative 2016 12,650
Marilyn Gladu Sarnia—Lambton Ontario Conservative 2016 9,394
Joël Godin* Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier Quebec Conservative 2016 11,899
Laila Goodridge* Fort McMurray—Cold Lake Alberta Conservative 2023 18,446
Jasraj Singh Hallan Calgary Forest Lawn Alberta Conservative 2023 23,017
Lisa Lynn Hepfner* Hamilton Mountain Ontario Liberal 2023 18,644
Randy Hoback* Prince Albert Sask. Conservative 2009 & 2014 12,585
Mark Holland* Ajax Ontario Liberal 2008 9,446
Matt Jeneroux Edmonton Riverbend Alberta Conservative 2022 11,453
Yvonne Jones* Labrador NL Liberal 2014 11,935
Pat Kelly Calgary Rocky Ridge Alberta Conservative 2022 10,760
Shelby Kramp-Neuman* Hastings—Lennox and Addington Ontario Conservative 2023 11,728
Stephanie Kusie* Calgary Midnapore Alberta Conservative 2018 13,390
Kevin Lamoureux* Winnipeg North Manitoba Liberal 2013 10,053
Viviane Lapointe Sudbury Ontario Liberal 2023 7,636
Patricia Lattanzio* Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Quebec Liberal 2022 16,903
Dominic LeBlanc* Beauséjour New Brunswick Liberal 2011 14,680
Lloyd Longfield* Guelph Ontario Liberal 2016 11,377
James Maloney* Etobicoke—Lakeshore Ontario Liberal 2017 14,116
Richard Martel* Chicoutimi—Le Fjord Quebec Conservative 2023 10,894
Kelly McCauley* Edmonton West Alberta Conservative 2017 12,724
Alexandra Mendès* Brossard—Saint-Lambert Quebec Liberal 2009 8,253
Marco Mendicino Eglinton—Lawrence Ontario Liberal 2016 6,714
Joyce Murray* Vancouver Quadra B.C. Liberal 2011 8,580
Mary Ng Markham—Thornhill Ontario Liberal 2018 7,355
Robert Oliphant* Don Valley West Ontario Liberal 2009 7,914
Jennifer O’Connell Pickering—Uxbridge Ontario Liberal 2017 11,375
Seamus O’Regan* St. John's South—Mount Pearl NL Liberal 2016 11,186
Pierre Paul-Hus* Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles Quebec Conservative 2023 17,233
Alain Rayes* Richmond—Arthabaska Quebec Independent 2016 10,705
Michelle Rempel Garner Calgary Nose Hill Alberta Conservative 2016 6,296
Blake Richards Banff—Airdrie Alberta Conservative 2016 7,880
Sherry Romanado* Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne Quebec Liberal 2017 10,840
Randeep Sarai* Surrey Centre B.C. Liberal 2017 11,806
Andrew Scheer* Regina—Qu'Appelle Sask. Conservative 2023 18,446
Peter Schiefke Vaudreuil—Soulanges Quebec Liberal 2023 11,316
Jamie Schmale* Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock Ontario Conservative 2018 7,286
Brenda Shanahan Châteauguay—Lacolle Quebec Liberal 2023 11,053
Francesco Sorbara Vaughan—Woodbridge Ontario Liberal 2016 10,350
Shannon Stubbs* Lakeland Alberta Conservative 2018 14,212
Rachael Thomas Lethbridge Alberta Conservative 2017 7,410
Tim Uppal Edmonton Mill Woods Alberta Conservative 2009 7,843
Dan Vandal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital Manitoba Liberal 2018 9,282
Chris Warkentin* Grande Prairie—Mackenzie Alberta Conservative 2007 7,973
Kevin Waugh* Saskatoon—Grasswood Sask. Conservative 2018 16,244
Bob Zimmer* Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies B.C. Conservative 2014 12,437
Data compiled by Davide Mastracci for The Maple: https://www.readthemaple.com/mp-cija-trips/

There are a few things to note:

  • This table only includes current MPs. CIJA and its predecessors have been taking MPs on these sorts of trips since 1973, and estimates it has sent about 800 MPs and senators on them throughout this period
  • My data includes trips sponsored by the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CCIJA), which was what CIJA was known as until 2011, and the Canada-Israel Committee, which had the CCIJA as its parent organization
  • Because this list only goes as far back as 2007 due to limitations of the online data, it’s likely that some trips from active MPs are missing

Of these 73 MPs, 35 are Conservatives, 32 are Liberals, three are Bloc Québécois, two are NDP and one is independent.

Party

Number of CIJA-Sponsored Trips

Conservative

35

Liberal

32

Bloc Québécois

3

NDP

2

Here’s the average amount spent per MP by party: 

Party

Average Trip Value ($)

Bloc Québécois

15,072

Conservative

12,545

Liberal

11,916

NDP

9,238

CIJA is a non-profit organization that notes one of its three main priorities is “educating Canadians about the important role Israel plays in Jewish life and identity.” It describes itself as a “Zionist organization.”

In its 2021 federal election guide, CIJA lists the following as an issue of importance: “Support of the people and land of Israel in the international community and at the UN and other international organizations.”

This is what CIJA includes as recommendations for MPs under the entry for this issue: “Publicly opposing both the one-sided UN resolutions that single out Israel and the efforts to isolate Israel and to negate, in UN forums, the Jewish people’s historically indisputable connection to Jerusalem. Ensuring the government’s positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict affirm the Canada Israel alliance and draw a clear moral distinction between the defensive actions of Israelis and the illegal aggression of banned terrorist groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.”

CIJA states that these trips, which they describe as “educational missions,” are “the single most important activity CIJA undertakes to educate Canadians about the people of Israel.” They note that they have specific trips tailored for MPs, which “include meetings with Members of the Knesset.” In general, they write that the trip “exposes participants to many important aspects of Israel, including tours of Jerusalem’s Old City, Yad Vashem, the Knesset, the Supreme Court, border positions along the Golan Heights, and more.”

In terms of results from the trip, CIJA writes, “CIJA ensures mission participants understand their attendance comes with no strings attached. Our view is that knowledge gained from visiting Israel speaks for itself; mission participants cannot help but return to Canada better informed about Israel and the Middle East. At the same time, missions often provide opportunities for greater cooperation between Canadians and Israelis.”

This article was updated on Nov. 20, 2023. The original version, published on May 17, 2022, at Passage, is available through the Wayback Machine.