PM launches design-and-build competition to ‘rehabilitate’ 24 Sussex Drive

The federal government is launching a national design-and-build competition to “rehabilitate and modernize” 24 Sussex Drive, nearly 11 years after the last prime minister lived at the official residence in Ottawa.

“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,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said standing outside the residence.

“Yet, it has not been cared for with the respect it deserves. And after decades of deferred maintenance and neglect, this house sits empty. It has been uninhabitable for more than a decade.”

Carney says the goal is to restore 24 Sussex Drive to “become, once again, a secure, accessible, and sustainable official residence and a working venue for Canada’s future prime ministers.”

The competition will be open to all Canadian firms.

“We are calling for proposals that are ambitious, achievable, and cost effective,” the prime minister said, noting 24 Sussex Drive is in “critical condition.”

‘By Canadians for Canadians’

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada will provide advice on the competition framework and convene an independent jury of experts in architecture, heritage conservation and design, who will recommend the winning design to cabinet.

“24 Sussex Drive will be built by Canadians for Canadians,” Carney said.

The winning proposal will be announced on Canada Day in 2027, with the winning team responsible for both the design and construction of the new official residence of the prime minister.

The government says to “minimise the cost,” the Rideau Hall Foundation will lead a national, non-partisan fundraising campaign to raise “all or more of the cost of the project.”

Carney expressed his “deep gratitude” to former prime ministers Stephen Harper and Jean Chretien for advocating the renovation of 24 Sussex as the official residence of the prime minister. He added Joe Clark, Kim Campbell, Paul Martin, Justin Trudeau and Mila Mulroney, the wife of the late Brian Mulroney, expressed their support for the renovation.

There is no word on how much the plan to rehabilitate and modernize 24 Sussex Drive will cost. Carney said the cabinet had seen “various costings for various options for the official residence of the prime minister,” including security costs.

“I don’t want to be forward on what the budget is for this, because, in many respects, that’s part of the competition,” Carney said.

The prime minister says the list of donors will be publicly released and donations will be capped. Carney told reporters the Rideau Hall Foundation will make the final call on the fundraising rules, but no individual donor can cover more than 10 per cent of the final project cost.

Heritage Ottawa says it supports the government’s decision to invest in 24 Sussex Drive.

“Heritage Ottawa has been advocating long and hard for the rehabilitation of 24 Sussex and it is with both relief and enthusiasm that we welcome today’s announcement,” Katherine Spencer-Ross, president of Heritage Ottawa, said in a statement.

“There is great scope for imaginative and creative rehabilitation of this historic site, owned by Canadians, that will secure the building and grounds for the use of future prime ministers for generations to come.”

24 Sussex Drive closed in 2022

The National Capital Commission closed the building to the public in 2022.

It completed abatement and decommissioning work in 2024 to address health and safety issues and remove “obsolete mechanical, heating and electrical systems.” The NCC also conducted an “abatement of designated substances, such as asbestos.”

24 Sussex Drive was built in 1867 and has been home to 10 prime ministers. The main building includes 34 rooms, as well as another small home at 10 Sussex Drive, a pool house and two RCMP guard houses.

No prime minister has lived at the official residence of the prime minister since Stephen Harper in 2015. Former prime minister Justin Trudeau and his family opted to live at Rideau Cottage on the grounds of Rideau Hall following the 2015 election.

Carney currently lives at Rideau Cottage.

“While 24 Sussex is a symbol of the office it serves, it must also be a home, and the women and men who will lead our country in the future will need a residence for their families,” Carney said.

“I will never, in any event, live in 24 Sussex Drive, but future prime ministers would 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.”

On Tuesday, the NCC’s board of directors approved the national capital core area plan, which included the goal for 24 Sussex Drive. The report called for the NCC and the federal government to “renew and possibly transform the official residence for the prime minister of Canada.”

24 Sussex Drive is a classified federal heritage building.

With files from The Canadian Press

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