Falling Down

By Hubie and Bertie

From 1948 to 1952, the White House underwent a top-to-bottom renovation, after President and Mrs. Truman realized the storied structure was literally falling apart. (The Roosevelts must have felt that spending money on the Executive Mansion during a Depression and a world war was not a priority.) Harry and Bess moved into Blair House for the duration, and the White House we know today is largely from the Truman redo. (Jackie Kennedy improved on it more a few years later.)

The point is, First Families deserve a nice place to live, and as Mrs. Kennedy firmly believed, a home that could serve as a place of national pride. (Although compared to other official residences, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is pretty modest, at least in size.)

Enter 24 Sussex Drive, which in the past has housed Canada's Prime Ministers. Not lately, though.

The last Prime Minister to live in it was Stephen Harper, who moved out after his Conservative Party was throttled by the Liberals in the election of 2015. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau never moved in. The house was in such bad shape that it had become a danger: As The Globe & Mail has said, "The residence has become a moldy, rotting, asbestos-filled firetrap that only raccoons and mice could love."

Ottawa is wrestling with what to do about 24 Sussex, and their choices aren't pretty — either spend scads of money on fixing it, or knock it down altogether. Nobody wants to pay for either.

It's a shame that things have gotten to this point, since the house was built around the time of Canada's confederation — but 24 Sussex has not had any care or feeding since 2001, and the National Capital Commission estimates it would take nearly $40 million to restore it now.

Enough. In the spirit of our own Executive Mansion rehabs, the Canadian Parliament should do what Congress did for Truman: Bite the bullet and authorize specific funding to save 24 Sussex. (Or, like Jackie Kennedy, get some deep pockets to help.) Sure, it's not the White House or 10 Downing Street — but Canada has its own history and heritage, and the Prime Minister's residence is part of that. We cats PURR.