A construction worker walks past the front entrance to 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa on Monday, May 29, 2023.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says renovating or building a new official residence for the prime minister will be at the bottom of his to-do list should his party form government after the next federal election.
Mr. Poilievre was responding on Tuesday to reporters’ questions about a Radio-Canada report that says, citing sources, that the government is leaning toward giving up on the idea of restoring 24 Sussex Dr. to continue as the prime minister’s official residence.
“Of my list of priorities, this will probably be the last. We don’t need a new home for the prime minister. We need a new home for working-class Canadians,” he said at a news conference in Oshawa, Ont.
The building, which backs onto the Ottawa River, has remained vacant since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opted not to move in to the home he grew up in as the son of prime minister Pierre Trudeau.
The Canadian prime ministers' residence, 24 Sussex, is seen on the banks of the Ottawa River in Ottawa on Monday, Oct. 26, 2015.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Sources told Radio-Canada that the building is too run down and the grounds are too small. Other options are being looked at in the city’s Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood, which is slightly north of 24 Sussex and home to many large homes on big lots that serve as diplomatic residences. Rockcliffe Park is also the location of Stornoway, the official residence of the Leader of the Official Opposition, where Mr. Poilievre and his family live.
The Conservative Leader said Tuesday that the prime minister’s residence does not need to be large enough to host large receptions – noting that the parliamentary precinct already has rooms where special events or private meetings can be held.
The residence “should just be a very basic, secure place where a prime minister can live safely at a reasonable cost to taxpayers,” Mr. Poilievre said.
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Louis St. Laurent was the first prime minister to move in to 24 Sussex, which has been the official residence of prime ministers since 1951. It was built in 1868 by lumber baron Joseph Currier.
After the 2015 election, Mr. Trudeau and his family opted instead to move in to Rideau Cottage on the grounds of Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s residence that is across the street from 24 Sussex. Since then, no decision has been made on what to do with the official residence.
In April, Mr. Trudeau told reporters that he is leaving the fate of 24 Sussex to the National Capital Commission, a federal body that manages the property. The NCC has said it would cost at least $36.6-million to restore the residence.
“I know there have been ongoing consultations and important processes to balance the historical heritage nature of that building and the needs of government and of Canadians going forward,” Mr. Trudeau said at the time.
During that news conference, Mr. Trudeau described Rideau Cottage as a “smaller but better place.” The Prime Minister hosted U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, there during a visit in March.
A survey released earlier this year by the Angus Reid Institute found half of Canadians oppose spending $36-million or more on renovating 24 Sussex.
The online survey of 1,602 Canadian adults was conducted from Jan. 13-16. It does not have a margin of error.
The survey also found that two-thirds, or 64 per cent, said recent federal governments have failed to maintain the prime minister’s residence “because they are afraid of the public backlash.”