Canada Spent $539K Protecting Prince Harry More Than Any VIP

In a recent CBC News investigation reported by Elizabeth Thompson, newly released RCMP documents obtained under Canada's Access to Information Act reveal that Canadian taxpayers spent more to protect Prince Harry over a five-year period than any other internationally protected person visiting the country. The records, released after a years-long fight by the RCMP to keep them secret, show the force spent at least $539,575 on security for the Duke of Sussex between 2014/15 and 2019/20 — a figure substantially higher than previously disclosed.

Canada Spent More Protecting Prince Harry Than Any Other VIP in Five-Year Period

Ottawa, Ontario — The RCMP allocated at least $539,575 to protect Prince Harry during his visits to Canada between 2014/15 and 2019/20, making him the most expensive internationally protected person to receive taxpayer-funded security over that period, according to documents obtained by CBC News through an access to information request.

Taxpayer-Funded Royal Security Under Scrutiny

The CBC News investigation by Elizabeth Thompson, presented in the embedded video report, draws on RCMP documents obtained under Canada's Access to Information Act to show that Canada spent more protecting Prince Harry than any other VIP over a five-year period. Between 2014/15 and 2019/20 the RCMP allocated at least $539,575 for his protection during multiple visits. This amount equals roughly 10 per cent of the $5.2 million total spent on more than 100 internationally protected persons who travelled to Canada in the same span.

Prince Harry visited Canada for events that included the Invictus Games in Toronto, which he founded, WE Day appearances, and personal trips to date his future wife Meghan Markle while she filmed the television drama Suits in Toronto. Security spending reached its peak in 2017/18 at $364,859, coinciding with his relationship with Markle and his participation in the Invictus Games. These figures matter to Canadian taxpayers because the RCMP must provide protection under the Internationally Protected Persons Act regardless of whether a visit is official, business, or personal.

The previous total released by the RCMP in 2021 stood at only $334,337, yet the newly disclosed records reveal substantially higher costs. Canadian readers have a direct stake in understanding how these incremental expenses, which cover travel and overtime but exclude basic officer salaries, are assigned when foreign visitors arrive on Canadian soil.

These expenditures connect directly to wider Canadian debates over government spending and accountability, where every public dollar faces increasing scrutiny amid competing demands on federal resources. The RCMP's mandatory protection obligations under the Internationally Protected Persons Act raise pointed questions about fiscal oversight, particularly when such duties extend to personal or commercial visits without any mechanism for prior parliamentary review or cost-benefit analysis.

The Documents: What the RCMP Records Reveal

The RCMP documents catalogue every incremental cost tied to Prince Harry's protection between 2014/15 and 2019/20. They list exact dollar amounts for each fiscal year and identify the specific events that triggered the spending. The records also note a possible $56,405 duplicate entry for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that may have artificially inflated the final total.

These internal papers were released only after Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard ordered the RCMP to disclose the names and costs. The force had resisted publication for years, arguing that the information should remain secret. The documents further clarify that the figures exclude basic salaries and do not cover G7 summit security, which falls under separate budgets, or visits by other members of the Royal Family on private working trips.

Canadian taxpayers can now examine the precise breakdown because the Access to Information Act compelled the RCMP to open its files. The records demonstrate that protection decisions rest on international conventions and the Internationally Protected Persons Act rather than on whether the visitor generates revenue for Canadian businesses.

Breaking Down the Costs

Prince Harry's protection bill totalled at least $539,575 across the five-year window, with the single largest outlay of $364,859 occurring in 2017/18. That year he attended the Invictus Games in Toronto and spent time with Meghan Markle. By comparison, Prince Charles received $178,584 in security support during his 2017/18 visit to Nunavut, Ontario and Ottawa.

The RCMP spent these sums on overtime and travel for officers assigned to the prince. The agency does not include regular salaries in the reported totals. A possible duplicate entry of $56,405 for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex appears in the records and could have pushed the overall figure higher than necessary.

These concrete amounts illustrate how one individual's repeated visits concentrated a significant share of the $5.2 million IPP budget. Canadian readers see directly that the largest single recipient of these funds was a member of the British Royal Family whose trips combined official events with personal travel.

In the context of the RCMP's overall budget, the $539,575 spent on Prince Harry represents a notable but variable allocation that highlights how protection costs can spike or nearly vanish depending on travel patterns. For comparison, the force spent $105,955 in 2016/17 yet only $866 in 2018/19, illustrating dramatic fluctuations tied to his presence in Canada. Such sums, while modest against broader public safety priorities like community policing or border security, still underscore the challenge of balancing fixed international commitments with domestic fiscal pressures.

Who Else Made the List?

Barack and Michelle Obama received $295,411 in RCMP protection during their visits. Bill and Hillary Clinton were allocated $143,927. Former president Jimmy Carter cost $50,328, while Laura Bush required $6,852. Ivanka Trump received $63,586, Melania Trump $42,602, and Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump together received $51,558.

U.S. ambassadors Bruce Heyman and Kelly Craft together accounted for $487,654. U.S. vice-presidents Joe Biden and Mike Pence required $446,333. Israel's ambassadors received $377,897. Italy's President Sergio Mattarella cost $215,305 during his 2017 trip. Malala Yousafzai, who received honorary Canadian citizenship and addressed Parliament in April 2017, required only $5,639.

The list also includes the CIA director, the FBI director, heads of intelligence services, the NATO Secretary General and the UN Secretary General. These figures show that Prince Harry's $539,575 exceeded every other named individual or family group in the five-year period examined by the RCMP records.

Former U.S. presidents continue to receive protection long after leaving office, a practice mirrored in Canada through legal obligations under international agreements that require the RCMP to safeguard qualifying visitors regardless of timing or purpose. This framework explains why figures like Hillary Clinton received $1.97 million in speaking fees from Canadian engagements between 2014 and 2015 while also drawing $143,927 in taxpayer-funded security during the same period.

RCMP Secrecy and Information Commissioner's Intervention

The RCMP fought for years to keep the names and exact costs of protected persons secret. Only after Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard issued an order did the force release the detailed documents under the Access to Information Act. The agency has since declined to answer specific questions about the records beyond general background statements.

The documents confirm that protection is mandatory under the Internationally Protected Persons Act and related UN conventions. The RCMP must provide security whether the visit is official, commercial or personal. This legal obligation explains why costs continued even during Prince Harry's private trips to Toronto to see Meghan Markle.

Canadian readers benefit from the commissioner's intervention because it produced the first public accounting of how $5.2 million was distributed among more than 100 visitors. Without that order, the higher total of $539,575 for Prince Harry would have remained hidden behind the earlier, lower figure of $334,337 released in 2021.

Questions of Fairness: Who Should Pay?

Former U.K. Met Police officer Simon Morgan, now founder of Trojan Consultancy, stated that protection decisions rest on role and risk assessment under UN conventions. He noted that Prince Harry, as the Queen's grandson and an Afghan war veteran, may have been viewed as requiring more robust security measures. Former CSIS analyst Phil Gurski, president of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting, argued that security should follow intelligence and risk assessments, yet suggested visitors who come to Canada for profit should contribute to the costs.

Gurski asked why Canadians should pay for the privilege of visitors making money from them. In one concrete example, Hillary Clinton received $1.97 million in speaking fees from nine appearances in Canada between March 2014 and January 2015 while also receiving $143,927 in RCMP protection during the same period.

These expert observations matter to Canadian taxpayers because the RCMP must fulfil its legal duties without regard to whether a visitor generates private income. The records show that costs are incremental and exclude basic salaries, yet the total still reached $539,575 for one individual over five years.

The broader policy question centres on whether the Internationally Protected Persons Act should be updated to require cost recovery when visitors are in Canada for commercial purposes, shifting at least part of the burden from taxpayers to those generating private revenue. Such a change could align security spending more closely with the economic benefits some protected individuals derive from their trips, while still respecting core international commitments.

What Happens Next

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from royal duties in January 2020, which ended their eligibility for taxpayer-funded security in Canada. The RCMP records cover only the period ending in 2019/20, so no further costs for the couple appear in the released documents.

The legal framework remains unchanged. Under international conventions and the Internationally Protected Persons Act, the RCMP must continue to protect any qualifying visitor regardless of the purpose of the trip. The documents also list the CIA director, FBI director, NATO Secretary General and UN Secretary General among those who received protection during the same five-year window.

Canadian readers now possess a clearer picture of how $5.2 million was allocated. The $539,575 spent on Prince Harry represents the largest single share, and the Information Commissioner's order has ensured that these figures can be examined against the costs assigned to other internationally protected persons who travelled to Canada.