Regarding 24 Sussex Drive, I’m wondering if it’s necessary. The Prime Minister lives in Rockcliffe, or the PM lives in Vanier, or in Kanata. As long as the PM resides in Ottawa, or area, does anybody really care?
Because 24 Sussex is not the White House or 10 Downing Street. The PM will never host a state dinner for a foreign leader at 24 Sussex, like the US President hosts foreign dignitaries at the White House; that’s what our Rideau Hall is for. And as for pronouncements coming from the steps of 10 Downing, well, we’ve managed since 24 Sussex has been shut down. I couldn’t tell you the street address of the Australian PM’s home, or the street address of the home of the PM of India, and so I doubt that anybody else in the rest of the world really cares that 24 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, is the traditional home of the Canadian Prime Minister. Maybe 24 Sussex is unnecessary.
A very good point, and one which many Canadians do not know. To reiterate: the office of Prime Minister is never mentioned in the 1867 Constitution. I do seem to recall that it’s mentioned maybe once in the Charter, but then, only in regards to a procedural matter. At any rate, Canadians do not vote for a Prime Minister–they vote for a local representative who is vying for a seat in Parliament. The leader of the party that gets the most seats in Parliament becomes Prime Minister. It’s just that easy.
Another difference is well under 5% of Canucks are members of any political party. Most are independent, and vote incumbents out of office one they tire of their efforts. I wonder what percentage of Canadians have voted for two or three major parties?
A super-fancy home probably isn’t necessary, but we need some kind of official residence. It’s not just about hosting parties.
These days, security is always an issue. We need some place secure for the PM and his family. Imagine what the Freedum Convoy would have looked like if Trudeau had lived in a normal house. So it needs facilities to make security easy, including working facilities for all the security staff. Another part of security is his drivers, as well, so he needs a big enough garage to house all the various cars and SUVs his staff might need. For better or worse, a modern PM travels with an entourage, and we need to accommodate that.
Also, these days, being PM is a 24-hour job. So he needs some staff close at hand for those midnight emergencies that will, at some point, arise. So more offices for those people.
And do we really want the PM wasting his time doing household chores? So more rooms for domestic staff.
Even if we stripped this down to the absolute minimum the PM needs just to do the job, it’s going to look like a “mansion” to the average Joe Poutine.
Given Coyne’s recent column, he might have to. (I personally like the guy, but it is tough to argue the Liberals have great plans for dealing with several major issues. Better than the alternatives?)