Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to announce the government’s plan to “restore” 24 Sussex on Friday.
Since the building was abandoned as the official Ottawa residence of the prime minister, taxpayers have been shelling out tens of thousands of dollars per year to maintain the vacant property.
Asked at a press conference Thursday what he would like to see happen to the building, Carney said he’d hold a press conference Friday to discuss that.
His itinerary says he will announce Ottawa’s plan to “restore” the building.
Carney told reporters last May that it would be up to the National Capital Commission to decide what to do with 24 Sussex.
The 35-room mansion, built in 1896, served as the prime minister’s official residence from 1951 to 2015.
While the grounds of 24 Sussex were used during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tenure for some social events, it was closed by the National Capital Commission in 2022 for “health and safety reasons” — including an infestation of rats.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was asked at a press conference Thursday what he thinks should happen to 24 Sussex.
“I really don’t think about it at all,” he said, adding that many Canadians can’t afford a place to live.
“When I see the homelessness in our streets and I see the young people who are desperate to start families but can’t get a house to do it, I just think the last thing on our minds should be 24 Sussex Drive.”
Poilievre is living in Stornoway, an eight-bedroom official residence reserved for the use of the leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons.
The National Capital Commission has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on maintaining 24 Sussex since 2015.
A document detailing expenses for 24 Sussex, obtained via information access law, shows that maintaining the building cost taxpayers more than $680,000 between January 2018 and June 2023.
Those costs included elevator maintenance, janitorial services, boiler maintenance, the removal of a bees’ nest, pest control, roof repair and pool cleaning.
A separate document from 2023, obtained via an access to information request, shows the Trudeau government looked at three main options for the official residence.
The first option would be to establish Rideau Cottage as the prime minister’s permanent residence by investing in additional residential infrastructure, such as laundry and staff offices.
The second option would be to build a new “modern facility” at 24 Sussex with “limited heritage elements,” which would accommodate both residential and official functions.
The third option would be to build an entirely new residence on NCC-owned land elsewhere in Ottawa.
An RCMP briefing note from last December said the agency has worked with the Privy Council Office and National Capital Commission to identify three options for a permanent residence based on a “security first approach.” The three options and recommended next steps were redacted from the document.
Heritage Ottawa has said that the building should be maintained, renewed and kept in public hands, even if it’s no longer the official residence.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2026.
Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press
