May two former prime ministers help save 24 Sussex?

A charitable effort to restore 24 Sussex Dr. to its former glory will be spearheaded by two former prime ministers.

As first reported in the Globe and Mail, Jean Chrétien and Stephen Harper have volunteered to lead a fundraising campaign to restore the former prime minister’s residence, each of them calling upon their extensive networks to do so.

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Former National Capital Commission board member and interim chair Bob Plamondon said he recently toured the 24 Sussex grounds with Chrétien and Tobi Nussbaum, chief executive officer of the NCC, which is responsible for the official residences.

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A joint effort spearheaded by two former prime ministers, from two different political parties, “takes the politics out of it,” Plamondon said in an interview.

“Supplied they don’t need funding from the authorities, in idea they would possibly well possibly take cling of this project on and contract with a registered charity,” he said. “As properly, there’s a sure effectivity in the choice-making process when it’s a small community.”

Chrétien and Harper, both of whom lived at 24 Sussex, are “wonderful to take on some risks and make a few of the trade-offs necessary to advance this project, this issue, in a cost-effective and efficient manner,” Plamondon added.

The property has been vacant for years, its long-standing issues with all the pieces from pest infestations to asbestos well-documented and its future something of a political hot potato. It is in the process of being “decommissioned” by the NCC, with an estimated cost for rehabilitation of more than $36 million.

As it stands, the Victorian dwelling built in 1866 is down to bare studs with its wiring and plumbing removed at a cost of $4.3 million.

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Excluding Chrétien and Harper, it was also once the residence of prime ministers Louis St-Laurent, John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark, John Turner, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell and Paul Martin. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has lived at Rideau Cottage, next to the Governor-General’s residence on the grounds of Rideau Hall, since being elected in 2015.

When asked about fundraising plans, a spokesperson said the NCC had provided a range of options to the federal government, but did not elaborate on the details.

Nussbaum was not made available for an interview.

Peter Coffman, an affiliate professor of history and theory of architecture at Carleton University, said it used to be “long overdue” to restore 24 Sussex and “treat it with the honor that it deserves, both as a heritage building and as the official residence of the prime minister.”

The obstacles to doing so have “always been purely political,” Coffman said, but this proposal would possibly “eliminate the partisanship, which is a major factor.”

The “unparalleled residence” was not originally designed as the prime minister’s residence, but was instead built for lumber baron Joseph Currier, who later became a member of Parliament. Other lumber barons lived there until the federal government appropriated it in the 1940s. Prime ministers resided in the building for more than half a century.

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“It’s one of the oldest and most significant heritage buildings, not only in Ottawa, but in the country,” Coffman said. “I cannot think of another country in the world that would have allowed this to happen to the official residence of its head of government.”

At the White House in Washington or No. 10 Downing Street in London, “this model of neglect would never be allowed,” because these residences “are not the property of any particular person occupant, but the nation,” Coffman said. “For some reason, we can’t seem to see it that way.

“Declaring (24 Sussex) will more than likely be an act of self-respect we can’t seem to conjure up.”

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