Prime Minister Mark Carney will soon be moving into Rideau Cottage while the fate of 24 Sussex remains unclear. Daniel Savoie, spokesperson for the Privy Council Office, confirmed to the Ottawa Citizen that Carney has been “temporarily staying at an official guest residence,” as was recommended by the RCMP and security officials. “In line with their security recommendations, he will soon be residing in Rideau Cottage,” Savoie added.
Ever since Carney returned to Canada in 2020 after living in London, where he worked as governor of the Bank of England, he lived in a house in Rockcliffe Park with his family. But since he became prime minister in March, questions arose about whether Carney would move into Rideau Cottage before the election. At the time, the Prime Minister’s Office refused to confirm where Carney would live as prime minister and said that decisions regarding his residence would “be made in due course.” Well, those decisions have now been made.
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau had been living at Rideau Cottage since 2015. He opted to avoid 24 Sussex, the longstanding residence of the prime minister, which has fallen into disrepair and faced many problems, including asbestos, rodents, as well as electrical and plumbing issues. Trudeau broke with tradition when he opted not to stay in the dilapidated official residence. Every other prime minister, including Stephen Harper, had lived at 24 Sussex since 1951 while in office.
Still, Rideau Cottage was supposed to be a stop-gap solution. Now, Carney will have to decide on whether to spend at least millions of dollars to repair the prime minister’s official residence, which could prove risky and controversial for a leader who has campaigned on fiscal responsibility.
For a decade, the prospect of the prime minister returning to 24 Sussex has been a political hot potato, primarily seen as a costly project during uncertain economic times. A 2021 report by the National Capital Commission, responsible for 24 Sussex, estimated that upgrading the facility to usable standards would cost $37 million. It’s unclear how those cost estimates will change during economic upheavals. 24 Sussex has also been flagged as a security risk. It lacks steel plates on the roof, and the house is vulnerable to a drone attack. In 2022, the NCC officially closed 24 Sussex for safety reasons. It has since been gutted, leaving an external shell.
It’s unclear what the next steps are for 24 Sussex. Both Harper and former prime minister Jean Chrétien joined forces in 2024 to offer to fundraise for the renovations privately. Others argue building an entirely new official residence would be more cost-effective. Before resigning in January, Trudeau addressed a letter to his public services and procurement minister calling for a plan to build a new official prime minister’s office. The letter also calls on Public Services and Procurement Canada to take over responsibility for the building from the NCC. The letter called for the proposal to be drafted by January 2026.
With 24 Sussex Drive sitting desolate and in need of millions of dollars in renovations, the government says Prime Minister Mark Carney will soon take up official residence at Rideau Cottage. The crumbling Ottawa home on Sussex Drive had long been the official residence for Canada's prime ministers, but has sat empty since 2015 as workers dealt with mould, asbestos, lead and rodents. With successive leaders unwilling to be seen spending money on the 19th-century building, it's fallen into various states of ruin and turned into a political quagmire.
In an email to CBC News, the Privy Council Office (PCO) said Carney, who already lived in the tony Ottawa neighbourhood of Rockcliffe not far from 24 Sussex, had been temporarily staying at an official guest residence for security reasons. He was only sworn in as prime minister a few days before triggering a federal election, which kept Carney and his wife Diana Fox Carney on the road for weeks.
“In line with their security recommendations, he will soon be residing in Rideau Cottage,” said PCO spokesperson Pierre-Alain Bujold. Rideau Cottage sits on the grounds of Rideau Hall, home to the Governor General, and was last occupied by former prime minister Justin Trudeau and his family.
In one of his final acts in office, Trudeau attempted to settle the problem of 24 Sussex Drive and asked his public services and procurement minister in a letter to come up with options for a new official residence for the prime minister by January 2026, and create an advisory committee that would weigh in on the location, cost, functionality and security requirements of the new home.
According to Trudeau's letter, there are three main options for replacing 24 Sussex: A new or heavily renovated complex on the existing property, a move to a second property in the Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood of Ottawa that has a better security profile, or an upgrade of Rideau Cottage, which has been the prime minister's unofficial official residence since 2015. Official estimates say the lowest-cost option would be in the tens of millions of dollars and likely north of $100 million.