PM Carney says he has no plans to tackle 24 Sussex question during his mandate

The Canadian prime ministers' residence, 24 Sussex, is seen on the banks of the Ottawa River in Ottawa on Monday, Oct. 26, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — Almost a decade after 24 Sussex Drive was abandoned as the official residence of the Canadian prime minister, taxpayers are still shelling out tens of thousands of dollars a year to maintain the vacant property, and the new prime minister has signalled he’s in no rush to deal with the crumbling building.

Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters in May that it’s up to the National Capital Commission to decide what to do with 24 Sussex.

“It’s not a challenge for today, this month, this year and it’s probably a challenge for this mandate,” Carney said in French, adding that multiple ideas on how to renew 24 Sussex have been put forward by former prime ministers.

The home is a 35-room mansion that was built in 1896, and served as the prime minister’s official residence starting in 1951. It has been a federal heritage site since 1986.

But former prime minister Stephen Harper was the last leader to live at 24 Sussex. When Justin Trudeau took over as prime minister in November 2015, he and his family instead moved into Rideau Cottage, a home on the grounds of Rideau Hall. Carney and his family now also live at Rideau Cottage.

While the grounds of 24 Sussex were used during Trudeau’s tenure for some social events, it was closed by the National Capital Commission in 2022 for “health and safety reasons.”

Those included an infestation of rats that was so severe they found rodent carcasses and excrement in the home’s walls, attic and basement.

The commission has since spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on maintaining the building.

A document detailing expenses for 24 Sussex, obtained via information access law, shows that upkeep of 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.

In 2022, the NCC spent just over $76,000 to repair a stone wall and steel fence after a tourist bus crashed into the gates of 24 Sussex.

NCC spokesperson Valérie Dufour said the organization is unable to provide any up-to-date information on operations and maintenance costs for the building. She confirmed the NCC continues to pay to maintain the building.

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.

Dufour said the commission presented options on the future of the official residence to the government and is awaiting a decision.

In a letter addressed to then-procurement minister Jean-Yves Duclos, Trudeau asked for a proposal on new options for the official residence to be drafted by January 2026.

Trudeau said the proposal should include a plan to transfer all responsibility for the official residence, except for general maintenance, from the National Capital Commission to Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Andrew MacDougall, who was director of communications to former prime minister Stephen Harper, said that while Carney is right to focus on more important files, Canada still needs to maintain “symbols” of its nationhood — including 24 Sussex.

“Imagine a U.S. president leaving the White House in a dilapidated state. They would never,” he said. “And so why do we tolerate it?”

MacDougall argued that Carney is already “opening the taps and spending like there’s no tomorrow” and he might as well take on a problem that too many prime ministers have ignored.

Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said the real problem is that the National Capital Commission is “too good at wasting our money but bad at managing properties.”

“With debt interest charges blowing a $1 billion hole in the budget every week, Prime Minister Mark Carney must make it a priority to hold the NCC accountable to stop wasting so much money,” he said.

“Canadians also shouldn’t be paying for an official residence for any opposition leader or Speaker, and the prime minister doesn’t need multiple residences.”

Katherine Spencer-Ross, president of Heritage Ottawa, said Carney’s reluctance to tackle 24 Sussex is “hardly surprising” given the amount of work on his plate.

“I’m not holding my breath,” she said. “I think he’s got another fish to fry.”

Spencer-Ross said that while prime ministers have been afraid to do anything about 24 Sussex because of the political optics, the prime minister of the day is still the “steward” of the building.

“It is not their home. It is not their party’s home. It belongs to the people of Canada,” she said.

Spencer-Ross said Heritage Ottawa wrote to Trudeau in 2018 to suggest setting up an external advisory committee to look at options for the residence. She said nothing happened with that idea until Trudeau included it in his letter to Duclos.

She said her organization believes 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 13, 2025.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press