As the subtitle suggests, the book is both a history of the house and its evolution/devolution, its pros and cons as an official residence (as well as a family home), and a look at what the future might hold. It was originally built in 1868 by a local lumber baron, Joseph Merrill Currier, who named it Gorffwysfa (a Welsh word meaning "place of rest"). The Currier family sold it to another lumber baron, William C. Edwards, in 1902, and remained in the Edwards family until the late 1940s, when it was expropriated by the federal government for use as an official residence for the prime minister. The house was stripped of its exterior Gothic/Victorian-era features and embellishments, gutted and almost completely rebuilt inside, and Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent and his wife Jeanne became its first official residents in 1951.
In the decades since then -- and the past 40-50 years in particular -- the house has been badly neglected: politics took precedence over maintenance, because no prime minister wanted to be the one to approve costly repairs and/or renovations to the old house, particularly during times of austerity or periods when the prime minister was leading a precarious minority government. The only major work done on the house since 1951 was a new roof, following a destructive ice storm in 1998.
Sadly, no one has lived at 24 Sussex since Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his family left in 2015. The incoming PM, Justin Trudeau, had lived there as a child (when his father, Pierre, was prime minister), but the house was in such poor shape he opted to live at Rideau Cottage, on the nearby grounds of Rideau Hall (the residence of the governor-general). Public opinion, fuelled by eye-popping (albeit possibly overblown) cost estimates of what it would take to repair and restore 24 Sussex, was in favour of demolition. In 2023-24, the vacant house was stripped down to its studs, awaiting a decision one way or the other about its future.
By then, however, those in favour of preserving 24 Sussex began to rally, arguing that it is worth saving. A new wave of national pride, in response to a hostile administration in the U.S., also generated renewed interest in saving the historic property. In June this year, current Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a design-and-build competition to restore 24 Sussex, with the winner to be announced by Canada Day 2027. (Earlier he said, "You're not going to see me at 24 Sussex, but I would like to see my successors at 24 Sussex in some way, shape or form... It's a responsibility to hand things off better than you found them.") He also invited the public to donate to the project. The goal is $50 million; I checked while writing this review, and more than $8 million has been donated to date.
There's a brief, interesting appendix which discusses how similar Commonwealth countries -- the U.K., Australia and New Zealand -- have handled their official residences.
My main criticism of this book is that there's a lot of detail (which some will find interesting and some won't), and a lot of repetition, including interviews with experts all saying essentially the same things. It's not a long book (about 170 pages in hardcover -- I read the bulk of it in one day), but it could arguably have been even shorter.
If you're not Canadian, or not interested in Canadian history and/or politics, this book probably won't appeal to you. But I'm a Canadian who loves history, appreciates heritage homes and buildings, and studied political science at university -- plus my family has a long history in the Ottawa area, dating back to at least the early 1820s. (An Ottawa newspaper item about the 1892 death of my great-great-great grandmother noted that "she came to Ottawa 75 years ago [as a girl, from Ireland] when there was only one house here.")(!)
So, overall, I enjoyed this book. :) And I hope work on a revitalized 24 Sussex will begin soon.
3.5 stars.
This was Book #36 read to date in 2026 (and Book #3 finished in November), bringing me to 90% of my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently 2 books ahead of schedule to meet my goal! (4 books to go!) You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."
*** *** ***
Personal note: I've driven past 24 Sussex a few times when I've been in Ottawa. You really can't see anything of the house from the street, certainly not when you're just passing by in a car. The first time was in May 1979, when Pierre Trudeau and his family were still in residence -- although there was a federal election a week later, which resulted in a minority government led by a new prime minister, Joe Clark. I was on a bus full of kids from all across Canada, part of my Adventure in Citizenship, sponsored by the Rotary Club (which I wrote about here). We were probably going to or from the governor-general's residence across the street (Rideau Hall). The bus driver pointed out the PM's residence, and everyone craned their necks to catch a glimpse. We did see a small structure by the gate (apparently what was once the coach house), and I distinctly remember one guy snickering, "That's where they keep Margaret" (the PM's estranged wife). (She actually lived in the attic at 24 Sussex for a while, before buying a house nearby. What can I say; it was the 70s, we were kids, and we didn't know Margaret's full story yet.)
