Prime Minister's residence set to be pricey - From the Cluttered Desk with Keith Roulston

Prime Minister Mark Carney last week announced a contest to redesign 24 Sussex, which has been the home of the Prime Minister until 11 years ago.

 

The house, built in 1868, the year following confederation, by one of the lumber barons who were kings of Ottawa in the early years, had become the home of the Prime Minister in 1951. 

 

Stephen Harper was the most recent Prime Minister to have resided at 24 Sussex Drive, leaving in 2015, when he was succeeded by Justin Trudeau, who opted to reside at Rideau Cottage, pending a review of work needed to repair 24 Sussex, which was in poor condition.

 

As of 2023, the building was infested with rodents, and the walls, attic and basement were filled with carcasses and excrement. In May 2023, work began to strip the property of asbestos and to remove obsolete mechanical, heating, and electrical systems which were the reasons that the building was deemed a fire hazard. A few interior views show fresh drywall and plenty of bare two-by-fours where walls once stood.

 

Under the supervision of architect Moshe Safdie, a contest will be held among architects to redesign the interior of the building. Two recent residents, Harper and former Prime Minister Jean Chretien will be advisors. The contest will be decided next July 1, with construction to follow.

 

It’s amazing to think the Prime Minister’s residence could cost more than $100 million to rehabilitate. This is a house that hosted a dinner for Queen Elizabeth II  -  when she arrived to open the Twenty-Third Parliament of Canada in 1957 when Prime Minister John Diefenbaker hosted her.

 

So much has changed over the years. We recently watched the new edition of All Creatures Great and Small, the most recent television adaptation of the James Herriott books about being a vet in Yorkshire, England in the 1940s. It’s fascinating to see how much farming has changed and view the old cars the vets drove over the narrow, hilly roads of Yorkshire.    

 

It reminded me of the old cars we drove when I was growing up on the farm north of Lucknow in the 1950s. We couldn’t afford a new car, so we drove old clunkers, which meant that we didn’t travel far. I remember suffering on dusty trips down our concession with dust that clouded the interior of our car through rusted-out holes in the floorboards.

 

We have an aerial photo of our farm taken in the early 1950s. In it, my younger brother and I and my grandmother are seen coming back from the garden where we were picking strawberries. Also in the photo is my grandmother’s “new” car: a 1947 Oldsmobile.

 

Of course, Canada is a young country that hardly touches the countries we emigrated from years ago. We’ve recently been watching the Doc Martin series we have on DVD. He drives his car (a nice new car) down streets so narrow he can barely squeeze through safely.

 

So, the Prime Minister’s residence is old by our standards, but hardly by worldly standards, even compared to the American White House where construction began on Oct. 13, 1792, and the building was completed in 1800. Yet, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre recently complained that the renovation of the Prime Minister’s residence is a waste of money. Of course, the leader of the Opposition lives free at Stornoway, owned by the National Capitol Commission with an assessed value of more than $4 million and a yearly tax bill of $70,000.

 

Certainly, as Poilievre says, the renovation costs would provide housing for many people living on the street. The $100 million would buy a lot of roofs over homeless people’s heads. Of course, so would the four million dollars the opposition party leader’s residence is worth.

 

The White House has a estimated real estate value ranging from $400 million to upwards of $1.5 billion, depending on how it is appraised.  U.S. President Donald Trump plans to build a $400 million ballroom. Meanwhile, No. 10 Downing Street, home of the British Prime Minister, is worth nearly $10 million in Canadian dollars.

 

There’s a cost to having an independent country. It’s not cheap. Current renovations to Canada’s Parliament Buildings are estimated to cost between $4.5 billion and $5 billion and won’t be finished until 2030 or 2031. That’s your (and my) money - and we may never even see the building, except on TV.

 

Money spent on the Prime Minister’s residence is part of having an independent Canada.  Let’s face it, with all the money taken from Canadians in sales tax and income tax, etc., the cost of these improvements are hardly noticed - on an individual basis. We have a proud country and should appreciate it - even if it’s very expensive.