-Published: Monday, December 23, 2019-




By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chose Costa Rica to spend at least part of his Christmas vacation with his family, the Canadian government office confirmed Friday.

According to the official version, in the prime minister's public agenda there are no more details of his trip to Costa Rica or how many days he will be in the country. Only confirmed is that he is involved in personal matters since Friday.

Trudeau, son of a man who also was prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, has been married since 2005 to Sophie Grégoire, with whom he has three children.

The Toronto Sun's Brian Lilley said in a humorous opinion piece that the prime minister "jetted off to Costa Rica on Friday to start his Christmas vacation."

"I can see it now, the PM wandering the streets with a white linen shirt open almost to his belly button, a red handkerchief tied around his neck." said the writer in his report. "I'm sure he’s learned some choice Spanish phrases to make sure he doesn’t embarrass us."

“But as I said, hopefully, this is a vacation and not a trip to serve as another national embarrassment, like India or even his recent trip to the NATO summit where he was caught on camera mocking Donald Trump with other world leaders at Buckingham Palace,” said Lilley.

The complete column can be found in the Toronto Sun site.


Costa Rica is a country with a significant number of visits by tourists from Canada. According to the tourism institute about 250,000 Canadians come each year.

Other Canadian politicians who have chosen this country for vacation include Manitoba's Premier Brian Pallister. He was in the news because he was penalized for not paying taxes owing on his vacation home in Costa Rica.

Manitoba is a province at the center of Canada.

Pallister said he failed to update the evaluation of his property as required by Costa Rica law, which meant he didn't pay the national tax on luxury homes.

"The valuations were supposed to have been, in hindsight, done every three years and you're responsible for doing them," Pallister told to the Canadian press, adding:

"At the outset, we were never advised that we owed anything on this, and were told we were not in this category, so we had no reason to believe . . . that we would owe anything."

Pallister said he has paid what he owed - roughly $ 8,000 in back taxes and penalties - after coming to Costa Rica to clear up the issue that has dogged him for months in the legislature and the media back home.

According to a report from Canada TV news, the premier and his wife purchased the property on a hillside in Tamarindo in 2008. "The main bungalow measures 3,400 square feet, according to design plans, and has what Pallister calls a small finished area in the basement with a piano and TV room. There is also a pool, a groundskeeper's quarters and a gym. "

The full report  can be reached at Canada TV news site.




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Which is the biggest attraction of Costa Rica for officials of other countries?  We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com