Less than three weeks from the election, officials still can’t say where the prime minister will actually reside.
The National Capital Commission has been pouring a steady stream of money into Rideau Cottage for at least eight years, with upgrades that make the two-storey brick house look like it could be a prime minister’s residence for years to come.
Is that the plan? The various federal departments involved still aren’t saying, even though we are now just three weeks from the results of the federal election.
Plus, the next prime minister doesn’t have to move to an “official residence” at all, but is free to live anywhere, says Jonathan Malloy, a professor of political science at Carleton University.
“There’s certainly no rule requiring living in an official residence at all; I doubt there’s even one for the White House of 10 Downing Street,” he said. And 24 Sussex Drive, already vacant, “was only designated in the mid-20th century.”
But assuming Canadians want their next prime minister in an official home, and that the winner of the election wants that too, let’s follow the money and see which building it leads to.
Government documents from 2016 to 2024, many released under access-to-information law, show $5.3 million being spent at Rideau Cottage for guard huts, comms equipment, many unnamed “packages” for the RCMP, parking, fences and gates, along with a new roof.
Meanwhile nothing is happening at 24 Sussex, which remains gutted and stripped of wiring and plumbing.
Rideau Cottage was the home of the Trudeau family after the former Liberal leader won the 2015 election. The “cottage” is on the grounds of Rideau Hall and is one of several official residences, but has never been an official home of prime ministers.
Over the past week, I asked around for information on where the soon-to-be-chosen prime minister will live. If it’s Mark Carney, rumour suggests he might stay at his private Rockcliffe home. It could also be Pierre Poilievre. Official lips are sealed on where the winner will hang his hat.
The NCC and Public Services and Procurement Canada both referred me to the Privy Council Office. Which sent me to the Prime Minister’s Office. Which hasn’t responded.
To give you an idea of the empty words they’re spewing, PSPC said: “The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of Official Residences and their heritage and cultural value. Public Services and Procurement Canada is continuing to work with federal partners to develop and refine options for the future of the Prime Minister’s Official Residence.”
The PCO sent this vacuous statement: “When there is a change of Prime Minister, the Privy Council Office works with the outgoing and incoming Prime Ministers to coordinate moves from and to the official residence. Additional information will be made available in due course.”
Oh.
But I found an intriguing list of recent years’ spending on Rideau Cottage, totalling $5.3 million.
There are a few minor bills but many are for long-term capital costs, such as guard huts at $52,000 each (plus installation), $247,089 for security barriers, $106,823 for vehicle barriers, $507,307 for unnamed “infrastructure improvement.” The piano tuning at $140 is a relative bargain.
These do NOT look like investments you make for a temporary home. Someone wants Rideau Cottage to be secure for a very long time.
Meanwhile 24 Sussex (or a new home replacing it) is looking less and less like a place where anyone will live in future.
Before the pandemic, the NCC estimated that either fixing or razing/replacing the stone house would cost in the $40-million range. But during the pandemic an odd thing happened: costs for NCC projects shot up beyond anything the agency could fathom.
“Non-residential construction inflation is higher than at any time in the past 40 years,” says a 2023 document explaining the jump in cost. “Market forecasts are suggesting further increases in construction costs in the near future … ”
Which means the $40-million price tag for 24 Sussex is an illusion. And the NCC wasn’t able to get the $40 million anyway.
The other official home of prime ministers also needs repairs that may be too costly. The country house at Harrington Lake, built in 1925 and renovated in the early 2020s, needs a new roof.
The NCC had just finished spending $5.7 million to renovate this “main cottage” at Harrington when leaks broke out all through the cedar-shingle roof — so many that experts can’t even count or locate them all.
Put on a new metal roof, planners said. But the bids came in too high, so winters still come and go with unfixed leaks caused by ice on the roof.
Back in December, I asked the NCC what’s happening with the repair and got this reply, which seems pretty lukewarm on the idea of fixing anything: “We have not awarded a contract and are working with a third-party consultant to review the scope of the project and ensure the investment provides good value before moving forward.”
I waited a couple of months and did an access-to-information request about details of the problem, but the NCC estimates it needs 120 days to answer me because it needs to consult people outside its own offices. About a roof.
I checked with the media office this week and was told they’re still working on plans with the consultant. So that project remains effectively stalled.
On top of that, the $5.7-million reno a few years ago ran short of cash before they could do the planned replacement of old wiring, plumbing and heating.
Meanwhile, Malloy, the political scientist, thinks it’s time to ditch “the model of the prime minister’s family residence also being a place for meetings and events … with an implicit assumption that the PM’s spouse is the ‘hostess’ of this residence.” Make it just a home, he says. And he likes both Rideau Cottage and, say, a Rockcliffe house: they’re secure sites, whereas No. 24 is “a nightmare.”
Likewise, architect Toon Dreessen says the prime minister’s house should just be a home, not a workplace with bustling functionaries and dining dignitaries when your kid is sick or you just want some family time.
I just wish someone would answer where Canada’s next prime minister will live without turning it into a “Where’s Waldo?” puzzle.
But for now, all the pieces point back over and over to Rideau Cottage.
Tom Spears is a semi-retired Citizen reporter with a strong interest in access-to-information requests and the rocky history of Ottawa’s official residences.
