Many would like to be able to live in impressive residences of heads of state, such as the White House or Downing Street. However, in his case of 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa Canada most would like to avoid this experience. Justin Trudeau no longer lives there either.

That’s because the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada for over 70 years, which has previously hosted luminaries such as John F. Kennedy, Princess Diana and Mikhail Gorbachev, it looks more like ruins because of the serious problems he faces.

The building has problems with asbestos, lead, and mold, as well as old electrical systems, rusty water pipes, leaky windows, and no air conditioning for the summer.

His new problem is… miceas it was filled with “dung and rodent carcasses between the walls, in the attic and in the basement”, according to the federal real estate commission of Canada.

The mansion was built in 1868 on the south bank of the Ottawa River and once belonged to a lumber baron. The last renovation was in 1951. Now, in order to solve all the problems of the building, the cost is estimated at €23.67 million.

Trudeau no longer lives there either.

The 12,000-square-foot, 34-room residence is the home Justin Trudeau grew up in. And that’s because he lived there when his father, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, was prime minister.

However, when he took over as prime minister in 2015, he decided to move to Rideau Cottage – a two-story government residence about a kilometer away – as he already knew about Sussex Drive’s problems.

“Many years ago, I decided not to move to this residence in order to stay with my family in a smaller but better home,” the Prime Minister of Canada said recently, while his country has already become aware of the appearance of mice.

Unlike the White House and Downing Street, Sussex Drive has always been residential only and has not been used as a formal workplace, and is too small for formal dining.

Because the building was left to fend for itself

But why did the official residence of the prime minister come to such a state? The last attempt was made four decades agounder Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

But every time Mulroney did renovations or worked at the prime minister’s residence, he took them in. “fire” of the press and opposition. The same thing happened in the 1970s, when Trudeau’s dad ventured to renovate the kitchens, upgrade the building’s security, and build a swimming pool with private donations.

Since then, in order to avoid criticism, all Canadian Prime Ministers prefer not to spend a lot of money on maintaining the building in good condition.

“This is one of the reasons why the house fell into disrepair compared to the time when I lived there. No prime minister wants to spend taxpayer money on this,” Justin Trudeau said in 2018.

In any case, the building has a special tradition, since until 1971 all prime ministers lived in it. they paid the rent! For example, Prime Minister Louis Saint Laurent paid about 3,400 euros in the 1950s.

What will happen next

Now the question is whether the building should be built or not. knocked down and build a new one. Justin Trudeau left the decision up to bureaucrats, saying this month that “discussions are underway” about the fate of the prime minister’s residence.

In a January poll, half of the respondents said they were opposed to the redevelopment of Sussex Drive. A third of the respondents indicated that the residence should be rebuilt.

Perhaps, since this issue is now a hot topic in the Canadian press, a solution will finally be found to prevent the complete demolition of the Prime Minister’s residence.

According to the BBC

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