Ottawa is home to plenty of historic addresses, but none quite as awkward as 24 Sussex Drive. The riverside mansion that's supposed to house Canada's prime minister has instead sat empty and crumbling for more than ten years, and now the search is finally on for a Canadian team to bring it back to life.
A fixer-upper with a view
Tucked along the Ottawa River with sightlines to Gatineau and a short walk from Rideau Hall, 24 Sussex Drive has one of the best locations in the city. But the building itself has been off-limits to residents since 2015, when the last inhabitant, Stephen Harper, moved out. Deferred maintenance, asbestos, outdated wiring, and failing infrastructure have all been cited over the years as reasons no prime minister since has been able to move in.
According to CBC Ottawa, the process now underway will identify a Canadian team, likely a mix of architects, engineers, and heritage specialists, capable of taking on the restoration. The goal is to make the building livable again for whoever holds the country's top job next, while also respecting its history as a designated heritage property.
Why this matters for Ottawa
For Ottawa residents, 24 Sussex is more than a political curiosity. It's part of the fabric of the city, sitting in the same prestigious stretch of riverside real estate as Rideau Hall and several foreign ambassadors' residences. Its prolonged vacancy has been a quiet embarrassment for the capital, a symbol pointed to whenever conversations turn to government dithering or the state of federal infrastructure spending.
A successful restoration would also be a win for Ottawa's construction and heritage trades sector, bringing a high-profile, closely watched project to local and national firms. Given the building's significance, expect strict oversight, heritage conservation requirements, and a fair amount of public scrutiny over cost and timeline, this is not a project that gets to run quietly.
What happens next
Details on timeline and budget for the renovation have not been finalized publicly, but the search for a qualified team marks the most concrete step yet toward actually fixing the place, rather than just discussing it. Past estimates for a full restoration have run into the tens of millions of dollars, a figure that has repeatedly stalled political will to act.
For now, Ottawans watching the story unfold can add 24 Sussex to the growing list of capital landmarks worth keeping an eye on. Whether this latest push finally gets a prime minister back behind that famous address remains to be seen, but after a decade of an empty house on one of the city's best stretches of riverfront, there's finally some movement.
Source: CBC Ottawa
