Construction work has just started on 24 Sussex Drive, the Prime Minister’s official residence. The building has fallen into a state of deep deterioration after years of neglect and inaction.
But the National Capital Commission (NCC), the federal body responsible for official residences, said the new activity should not be interpreted as a commitment to fully restore the 150-year-old property that has housed ten of prime ministers of the country.
The NCC told CBC News that this work must be done regardless of what the government ultimately decides to do with the heritage property.
Work began last week to remove asbestos from the property and remove “outdated mechanical, heating and electrical systems,” an NCC spokesman said. The rehabilitation works are expected to last approximately one year.
The construction activity follows the commission’s decision to formally close the residence for health and safety reasons.
Although the neo-Gothic style house, located on the Ottawa River, has been vacant for years, the property was still being used by staff until it closed in 2022. It was also used to host garden parties in the ‘extensive land of two hectares of the house.
But the once stately property is now infested with rodents. The property has also been deemed a fire hazard because the property uses outdated ‘knob and tube’ wiring from another era.
The Prime Minister’s Residence, 24 Sussex, on the banks of the Ottawa River in Ottawa on Monday, October 26, 2015. The building is a designated federal heritage building and has been the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada since 1951. Stephen Harper was the last PM to live there. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
A 2021 report concluded that the residence is in “critical” condition and pegged the cost to complete “deferred maintenance” at $36 million. The report pegged the home’s “current replacement value” at $40.1 million.
The fate of the 34-room mansion is in the hands of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet.
Despite repeated pleas from heritage advocates, Trudeau has so far indicated he has no plans to save the building.
He has lived since 2015 in Rideau Cottage on the grounds of the Governor General’s residence, a relatively small house originally built for an aide.
The sorry state of 24 Sussex has heritage enthusiasts feeling down.
David Flemming is the chair of the advocacy committee for Heritage Ottawa, a group committed to protecting the capital’s built history.
He said it is “outrageous” that Canada, a G7 country with a $2 trillion economy, does not have a functioning official residence for the head of government.
“The politicians making the decision, this is not their building. This belongs to the people of Canada,” Flemming told CBC News.
“Having a residence for the prime minister is just the cost of doing business as a nation. The truth is that we don’t take much account of our built heritage in this country.”
Margaret Trudeau with Pat Nixon holding baby Justin Trudeau at 24 Sussex Drive in 1972. (Provided by the White House Photo Office)
Flemming said his group has written letters to Trudeau asking him to make a call on the fate of the home, but their pleas have been repeatedly ignored.
“All we want is for something to be done. That’s it,” he said. “We just want him to make a decision. Whether it’s the prime minister’s residence or not, it should be kept as a public building.”
Flemming had nominated former Governor-General David Johnston as a neutral arbiter to lead a panel of experts to decide on the future of the house.
Given the recent controversy over Johnston’s role as special rapporteur on foreign interference, it’s likely that Johnston “isn’t the one for now,” Flemming said. But the idea remains, he added: A distinguished group of nonpartisans should decide how best to restore the crumbling landmark.
U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are greeted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, left, at Rideau Cottage in March 2023. Rideau Cottage is a relatively small house originally built for an aide to the governor. general (Andrew Harnik/AP Photo)
Christina Cameron, a professor and former Canada Research Chair in Built Heritage at the University of Montreal, agrees that 24 Sussex can and should be saved.
He last saw the inside of the house in 2018. At the time, he said, the property appeared salvageable.
“There’s no reason why this house can’t be rehabilitated,” he said.
“I think it’s very sad. I’ve looked at it over the years and no prime minister wants to be seen investing in something for himself. I don’t know how we break the deadlock but it’s important that we do because it’s a house that is critical to our national history, to our narrative as a country.
“So many people important to world history have walked through this door and we’ve all seen them photographed at the door.”
Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau pose for photographers at 24 Sussex on April 16, 1982. (Ron Poling/Canadian Press)
Cameron said Trudeau should commit to restoring the property and dictate that the work be done on a deferred basis so that it is only available to the next occupant.
Trudeau could preserve history while neutralizing claims it was a self-serving decision, Cameron said. Or, he said, the house could be repurposed for public use. Any choice would make it politically palatable for the current government, he said.
“I think the worst thing is to do nothing,” he said.
The residency has become something of a political hot potato. The multi-million dollar restoration price tag has deterred both Trudeau and his predecessor, Stephen Harper, from doing anything about a house that dates back to Ottawa’s days as a lumber town.
Trudeau said in April that the government is working with “public officials as they chart the way forward for official residences.”
LOOK | See what 24 Sussex Drive looked like in 1958, when Olive Diefenbaker welcomed CBC viewers to the official residence of Canada’s Prime Minister: 
Olive Diefenbaker welcomes CBC viewers to 24 Sussex Drive in 1958
On New Year’s Eve 1958, Mr. and Mrs. Diefenbaker entertain spectators at the Prime Minister’s residence. Aired December 31, 1958 on CBC’s Close-Up.
A spokesman for Trudeau would not comment on the future Friday, 24 Sussex, referring questions to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Helena Jaczek.
A spokesperson for Jaczek told CBC News they “don’t have much of an update on 24 Sussex.”
“We continue to work closely with the National Capital Commission to develop a plan for the future of 24 Sussex Drive,” the spokesperson said.
At least one former resident, former prime minister Jean Chretien, has said the house is “an embarrassment to the nation” and should be restored.
Maureen McTeer, wife of former prime minister Joe Clark and author of a book on Canada’s official residences, said the house is not worth saving. The interior of the house was torn down decades ago and has lost its historical value, he said in a 2015 interview.
Reached by email Thursday, McTeer said she had no comment on the future of the house.
Maureen McTeer, centre, wife of former Prime Minister Joe Clark, right, has said 24 Sussex is not worth saving. (Canadian Press Files)
Canada is an outlier among its allies when it comes to repairs of official residences.
The British equivalent of 24 Sussex — 10 Downing Street — recently went through an extensive renovation.
The White House was revised under former President Donald Trump.
The Lodge, the official residence of the Australian Prime Minister in Canberra, received millions of dollars restoration works in 2016.
Stornoway, the official home of the Leader of the Official Opposition in Ottawa’s leafy Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood, is also in good shape: it received tens of thousands of dollars in repairs as recently as 2020.
While 24 Sussex has been left to rot, opposition leaders including Rona Ambrose, Andrew Scheer, Erin O’Toole, Candice Bergen and Pierre Poilievre have made use of Stornoway, an early 20th-century house built by a prominent store that later served as a temporary home. home in exile for the Dutch royal family during World War II.
Stornoway, the residence of the Leader of the Official Opposition, in Ottawa’s Rockcliffe Park. (Brian Morris/CBC News)
“You know, the federal government has a good track record when they decide to do restorations. We have some top-notch architects and conservation people,” Flemming said.
“It just takes a little bit of political will, and there’s none of that right now.”
