Canada’s 24 Sussex Drive becomes an urgent renovation showdown

Mark Carney was set to announce the federal plan for 24 Sussex Drive as the prime minister’s official residence remained a vacant, deteriorating 34-room mansion in Ottawa’s New Edinburgh neighborhood. The building has stood empty since 2015, when Stephen Harper was the last prime minister to live there, and its future has become a test of whether Ottawa will keep paying to restore one of the country’s most visible symbols of state power.

The National Capital Commission began closing 24 Sussex in fall 2022 for health and safety reasons and to protect the heritage asset. Built between 1866 and 1868 and designated a Classified Federal Heritage Building in 1986, the house overlooks the Ottawa River, but years of neglect left it in critical condition. The NCC’s abatement and decommissioning project ran from May 2023 to November 2024 and carried a budget of $4.3 million.

A federal briefing to Parliament said the property had seen little investment in more than 60 years and would need major rehabilitation of the building envelope, mechanical and electrical systems, and accessible entrances and washrooms. Earlier estimates for a full restoration or rebuild have run into the tens of millions of dollars. The problem is not limited to one address: in its 2021 condition report, the NCC said the broader official residences portfolio had continued to deteriorate because of chronic underfunding, and that only 24 percent of the assets were in good condition.

Carney has called the state of 24 Sussex “an embarrassment” and said he wants a decision made on its future, while also saying he would like to see future prime ministers live there again. The federal government has been using Rideau Cottage as the temporary residence, but a government memorandum described it as inadequate for a prime minister’s needs and flagged security risks. Heritage Ottawa and the National Trust for Canada have pushed for action, arguing that the building’s heritage value has been matched by years of delay.

For Ottawa, 24 Sussex has become more than a renovation file. It is a measure of whether the federal government can justify major spending on an official residence while voters face affordability pressures, and whether Canada is prepared to pay for stewardship before a national emblem turns into a permanent liability.