Why Canada’s prime minister is homeless

MOST heads of government have an official residence. It is normally an uncontroversial perk. Not so in Canada. Since 1951 the country’s prime ministers have lived in 24 Sussex, a 34-room limestone mansion in Ottawa. Justin Trudeau, the current prime minister, did as a child, when his father, Pierre Trudeau, had the job. But he has taken up residence at Rideau Cottage on the neighbouring estate of the governor-general, the queen’s representative in Canada. The problem is that 24 Sussex is too run-down to house Mr Trudeau, his wife and three children. And he does not want to take the political heat for approving repairs.

No one doubts that the 150-year-old house, built by a lumber baron, needs work. Ceilings and walls are impregnated with asbestos, a mineral so carcinogenic that Canada will ban its export next month. Some of the paint is lead-based. The place is infested with mice, which may be why Mr Trudeau’s predecessor, Stephen Harper, liked cats. The auditor-general warned a decade ago that the plumbing was clapped out, the 50-year-old knob-and-tube wiring was near full capacity and heat was escaping through loose windows. The house needed C$10m ($10m) in repairs immediately, she said.