OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau, his family and a few friends were guests of the Aga Khan over the holidays on the wealthy religious leader's private Bahamian island.
A spokesman for the prime minister, Cameron Ahmad, is confirming a National Post report that the Aga Khan invited the Trudeau family and a few friends to join him on Bell Island.
The Aga Khan is the hereditary spiritual leader of the world's approximately 15 million Ismaili Muslims and a renowned philanthropist.
Ahmad notes that the Aga Khan and Trudeau "have been close family friends for many years."
As required for security purposes, Trudeau and his family flew to Nassau on a government Challenger jet; Ahmad says no friends were aboard.
He says Trudeau will reimburse the cost of the airfare for himself and his family to and from Nassau.
The Aga Khan founded one of the world's largest development agencies, the Aga Khan Development Network, dedicated to enhancing progress in under-developed regions of the world.
In 2009, then-prime minister Stephen Harper bestowed honorary citizenship on the Aga Khan.
