Photo credit: Firstpost
Prime Minister Mark Carney triggered a national sprint Friday to redesign and rebuild 24 Sussex Drive, saying that the prime minister’s official residence is a national landmark that is now in critical condition.
National Post reports that while speaking during a press conference in Ottawa at the dilapidated stone mansion that has been home to 10 Canadian prime ministers, Carney unveiled new competition for Canadian firms to submit their rebuild and design proposals.
The competition, which largely ends more than a decade of debate about where Canada’s prime ministers will live, will be led and largely judged by The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. The institute, which has experience supporting architectural competitions, will review proposals and then make a recommendation to cabinet by July 1 of next year.
Carney also said the government will try to reduce the costs of the project by using a non-partisan charity, the Rideau Hall Foundation, to lead a national fundraising campaign to raise as much money as possible.
Carney said the process will be transparent and that it’s unlikely that any single donor will be allowed to contribute more than 10 percent of the final bill.
While the decision to renovate and perhaps expand the famous home will no doubt please many history and heritage buffs, the notion of donations drew criticism almost immediately.
