Minister Harjit Sajjan skipped the Taylor Swift concert following the fracas over free tickets

Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan didn't go to the Taylor Swift concert in Vancouver he was set to attend with free tickets he got from a B.C. Crown corporation, a spokesperson for the minister told CBC News on Monday.

After facing fierce criticism for accepting tickets to the in-demand event for himself and his family, Sajjan decided it was best not to go at all, the spokesperson said.

Sajjan returned the tickets on Friday to B.C. Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), the provincial entity that owns the B.C. Place stadium where Swift performed over the weekend, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said Sajjan gave PavCo enough time to find someone else to attend in his place.

Sajjan told the federal ethics commissioner — who initially cleared him to take the free tickets — that he wouldn't attend. Sajjan, who gave $1,500 to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank in lieu of payment for the tickets, is not asking for his donation back, the spokesperson said.

PavCo donated Swift tickets to food banks and other charity organizations so that they could raffle them off and raise money. It also auctioned off suites, raising more than $1 million, according to the corporation.

In exchange for free tickets to the concert, PavCo expected the political and business leaders it invited to make a "significant donation" to food banks, the company has said.

That's how Sajjan initially justified taking the free tickets. He told reporters the funds raised from giving out the Swift tickets were going to a worthy charity.

WATCH | Minister responds to questions aboutTaylor Swift tickets

"This is actually supporting a very good cause, something that Taylor Swift also supports as well," Sajjan told reporters last week.

"I'm actually very happy to be able to raise money and create greater awareness for the food bank."

The Opposition Conservatives, meanwhile, pounced on Sajjan's decision to accept the tickets, saying it was "absolutely unacceptable" for a minister of the Crown to take that sort of gift.

A fan poses in front of an inflatable friendship bracelet before the Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert stop in Vancouver on Friday, December 6, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/Canadian Press)

Swift's Eras Tour, which started in March 2023 and was watched by millions around the world, came to an end in Vancouver Sunday night.

"That is, I think, the lasting legacy of this tour, the fact that you have created such space and joy and togetherness and love," Swift told her Vancouver fans.