Trudeau proposes way forward on 24 Sussex problem during final days in power

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepares to leave office, CBC News has learned that one of his final acts is an attempt to settle the problem of 24 Sussex Drive, the official — and long vacant — residence of Canada's prime minister.

In a letter to Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, Trudeau asks the minister to develop a proposal with options for a new official residence for the prime minister by January 2026.

The prime minister asks Duclos to set up an advisory committee that would weigh in on the location, cost, functionality and security requirements of the new residence.

Trudeau sent a separate letter to Public Safety Minister David McGuinty asking him to support the process, as his department would help with security planning.

CBC News has viewed the letters and was briefed on the overall plan by a senior government official who was speaking on background.

Trudeau asks Duclos to transfer responsibility for the residence from the National Capital Commission (NCC) to Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) — which already is responsible for buildings in the parliamentary precinct. 

The advisory panel would include eminent Canadians that could include former prime ministers and clerks of the Privy Council to find a long-term solution for an official residence that would also include space for work and events and meet modern security requirements.

The NCC is responsible for the management of the six official residences in Ottawa, including 24 Sussex. The home has been vacant since 2015, when Trudeau was first elected, and sits in disrepair. The NCC officially closed the residence in 2022 and workers have since stripped it of mould, asbestos, lead and the rodents living inside.

Broadly, there are three options for replace to 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.

None of the options are cheap. Official estimates say the lowest-cost option would be in the tens of millions of dollars and likely north of $100 million.

That price tag has been a significant obstacle to any attempts to upgrade or replace 24 Sussex.

It was politically difficult to spend significant money on an official residence when ordinary Canadians are struggling to buy homes. This challenge was compounded by the inflation and affordability crisis in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The committee Trudeau is proposing is an attempt to get past that — especially if former prime ministers from different political parties participate in the process. The timing also means Trudeau won't be seen as benefiting from whatever the committee recommends.

However, it is possible that Trudeau's successor Mark Carney — or whoever wins the next federal election — won't support what the committee recommends and decides not to move ahead with a new residence.