Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called on cabinet ministers to help develop a plan for a new official residence to replace the vacant 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
In his last week as prime minister, Justin Trudeau has asked one of his ministers to develop plans for a new official residence for his successors by creating an advisory group to provide recommendations on the location, functionality, cost and security requirements.
In a March 7 letter to federal Public Services Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, Mr. Trudeau asked the minister to bring forward a proposal by January, 2026, examining options for the future of the prime minister’s official residence.
However, it’s unclear who will act on Mr. Trudeau’s request. Mr. Duclos, a Quebec MP, announced on Thursday that he would not be in the new cabinet being named on Friday by Mark Carney, Mr. Trudeau’s successor.
Mr. Carney has not said publicly whether he is interested in addressing the issue.
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Since 1951, Canadian prime ministers have lived at 24 Sussex Dr., which was built in 1868. However, Mr. Trudeau chose to move his family into Rideau Cottage on the grounds of the governor-general’s Rideau Hall residence when he became prime minister in 2015.
Mr. Trudeau has previously said 24 Sussex has been neglected by many generations of politicians and prime ministers and is “in terrible condition.”
According to a copy of the letter obtained by The Globe and Mail, Mr. Trudeau wrote that the composition of the advisory group would be established by the Clerk of the Privy Council. Mr. Trudeau noted that he had asked the Public Safety Minister to help support the advisory group.
David McGuinty has been the public safety minister, but it is unclear whether he will remain in that post in the new cabinet.
Sheila Copps, a former Liberal deputy prime minister who was involved in a bid last year to rally former political leaders to facilitate the rebuilding of 24 Sussex, described Mr. Trudeau’s letter as good news.
“I am very pleased that the prime minister recommends an independent process to get rid of the politics. No prime minister should have to decide on public funding for their residence. This will finally move the issue forward,” Ms. Copps said in a statement.
Mr. Duclos was told the proposal should include a plan to transfer the National Capital Commission’s responsibilities related to the official residence, with the exception of general maintenance, to the parliamentary infrastructure branch of Public Service and Procurement Canada.
Leslie Maitland, the past president of the Heritage Ottawa group, said, at the very least, the advisory group might survive the change in leadership at the prime minister’s office, and be a helpful measure.
“Let’s have an independent study group which includes non-partisan people, experts in heritage conservation and Indigenous groups,” she said in an interview Thursday.
Ms. Maitland said she hoped the group would consider what sort of residence the prime minister needs, whether 24 Sussex Dr., which is now empty, can meet those needs or whether a new location is needed.
Ms. Maitland said it would have been helpful for Mr. Trudeau to act at the beginning of his run as prime minister. “But we’ll take what we can get,” she said.
The National Capital Commission, which manages official residences in Ottawa, has cleared out 24 Sussex as part of a $4.3-million decommission effort, leaving the building as an empty shell, pending a decision on what to do with the property.
Valérie Dufour, a spokesperson for the National Capital Commission, referred questions on Mr. Trudeau’s letter to the Privy Council Office.
The NCC has chronicled the decline of the property from neglect and has said it would cost about $36.6-million to properly renovate the building.
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said that solving the issue of 24 Sussex would not be a high priority were he to become prime minister.