24 Sussex Drive will be restored, Carney says as competition launches

Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is launching a national design-and-build competition to restore 24 Sussex Drive, the derelict official residence of Canada’s prime ministers.

The competition will be open to all Canadian firms, with the winning team tasked with designing and constructing the new official residence. The list of donors will be made public.

Carney said the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada will provide advice on the competition framework, create an independent jury of experts in architecture, heritage conservation and design.

The Rideau Hall Foundation, a non-partisan national charity organization, will also be running the fundraising campaign across Canada to help with the cost of the restorations.

“24 Sussex Drive will be built by Canadians for Canadians,” Carney said outside the residence Friday morning.

Feedback from former prime ministers Stephen Harper and Jean Chrétien will provide feedback throughout the restoration process, Carney added.

The winning design proposal will be announced on Canada Day next year.

Carney said the plans to restore the building reflect the need to “preserve our history, protect our heritage and traditions for generations to come.”

“24 Sussex Drive is more than a residence, greater than a mere backdrop to history. It is a symbol of the public office of the head of our federal government, and of the democratic traditions that office represents,” he said.

“I will never in any event live in 24 Sussex Drive. But future prime ministers will undoubtedly need to raise their children here as they lead our country. So, we’ll restore it so they may do so safely and securely.”

Built in 1846, the 35-room mansion was abandoned as the official Ottawa residence for Canadian prime ministers in 2015 by Justin Trudeau.

The annual cost to maintain the vacant property is estimated to be costing Ottawa taxpayers roughly $150,000.

The residence has been deemed uninhabitable for a prime minister for years, with Carney currently residing in Rideau Cottage as former prime minister Justin Trudeau did, with dead rodents and feces in the walls, attics and other parts of the property as well as extensive water damage and electrical issues.

A 2022 National Capital Commission (NCC) report also cited water damage as a “major risk”, saying there are “70-year-old galvanized pipes that are rusting from the inside out, currently leaving only a very thin pipe.”

The NCC also estimated in 2022 that the costs of restoration would be around $37 million.

Debate surrounding the landmark has been circulating for years, with the possibility of rebuilding once being an option.

In 2023, then-procurement minister Helena Jaczek told MPs sitting on a House of Commons committee on government operations that Ottawa would have a plan for the future of 24 Sussex by the fall.

However, a government official speaking on background told Global News at the time that Duclos was still being briefed on the matter and said they were “not sure we will respect the deadline that was set by Minister Jaczek.”