After more than a decade of sitting abandoned and crumbling into disrepair, Canada’s iconic prime ministerial official residence at 24 Sussex Drive is finally set to be restored, after Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a long-awaited, community-focused national restoration plan on Friday.
Widely recognized as Canada’s equivalent to the White House in the U.S. or 10 Downing Street in the UK, the 19th-century property has been uninhabitable since the 2010s, plagued by systemic neglect. Years of deferred maintenance left the building with severe hazards including asbestos-contaminated walls, toxic mould infestations, and widespread rodent problems, earning it the label of a “national embarrassment” from industry experts. Preliminary remediation work completed in 2024 cleared the site of asbestos, mould, and pests, but major structural and cosmetic renovations remain needed to make the residence safe and usable again.
The price tag for full restoration is currently estimated at over C$100 million (US$71 million). For years, this cost has deterred successive Liberal and Conservative governments from moving forward with taxpayer-funded repairs, as successive administrations chose to prioritize other policy areas over restoring the historic property.
Under the new plan outlined by Carney, the federal government will not draw on public funds for the majority of the project. Instead, the Rideau Hall Foundation will lead a national crowdfunded fundraising campaign to cover a large portion of the costs. To prevent corporate influence and ensure transparency, Carney announced strict rules for the campaign: only individual Canadian residents and registered philanthropic organizations will be eligible to donate, donation amounts will be capped, and a full public list of all contributors will be released once the campaign concludes.
Alongside the fundraising push, the government will launch a national design competition open exclusively to Canadian architecture firms. Teams will submit renovation proposals that honor the building’s historic character while updating it to meet modern accessibility, security, and sustainability standards. An independent jury will review all submissions and select a winning design by July 2025.
In remarks announcing the plan, Carney emphasized that 24 Sussex Drive holds deep national significance. Over its history, the residence has housed 10 Canadian prime ministers and hosted global leaders including Queen Elizabeth II and Winston Churchill. Carney acknowledged that the property had “not been cared for with the respect that it deserves” for decades, noting that while he is unlikely to ever move into the residence himself during his premiership, his government is committed to leaving a functional, respected national asset for future Canadian leaders.
Explaining the decision to avoid full taxpayer funding, Carney said his administration has prioritized pressing domestic policy goals, including expanding the supply of affordable housing across Canada and strengthening national economic growth. He added that the project aligns with a broader public commitment to shared national heritage, noting that Canadians hold a collective sense of ownership over the iconic property. “This is their house,” Carney said. “It is a symbol of the nation.”
Joseph Clark, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Toronto, noted that while 24 Sussex Drive is far more modest in scale and grandeur than its global counterparts like the White House, its cultural and political importance to Canada remains unmatched.