So many dead mice were trapped behind the sagging walls and heaped in the basement of the Canadian prime minister’s official residence that officials decided to shut down the decrepit building last year amid concerns that the air in the mansion was no longer safe to breathe, according to newly released documents.
The limestone-clad house at 24 Sussex Drive, perched on a cliff above the Ottawa River, is one of the country’s most symbolically important and politically fraught plots of real estate.
Last year, the National Capital Commission (NCC), which is tasked with preserving heritage buildings in Ottawa, shut down the residence, estimating the cost of renovating and upgrading at nearly C$40m (US$29.7m, £23.8m).
The documents, obtained by the National Post, underscore the ways in which decades of negligence have left the official residence of the prime minister plagued with mould, cracked windows, failing plumbing and an electrical system widely seen as a fire hazard.
They also highlighted the building’s mouse problem, which created additional headaches for the NCC.
“There is an important rodent infestation, which can’t be fully addressed until the building envelope issues are resolved,” according to internal documents from June. The buildings interior walls contain hazardous asbestos and cannot be removed until a remediation plan is in place.
“In the meantime, we use bait to control the situation, but that leaves us with excrement and carcasses between the walls and in the attic and basement spaces,” the document said.
The masses of decomposing mice and excrement, had led to “real concerns with air quality” within the residence.
Justin Trudeau spent years at the house as a child when his father was prime minister, but after taking power in 2015 he declared he would not be returning.
The sprawling estate has no full-time tenants, but the manicured grounds are frequently used for garden parties. And the building’s pool and sauna, installed in 1975 at the request of Justin Trudeau’s father Pierre Trudeau, is “still used on a very frequent basis”.
The documents also flagged longstanding concerns over asbestos and disintegrating insulation on electrical wiring.
“There is a serious risk associated with the electrical systems, which is why we consider the building a fire hazard,” says the note, adding that an incident over the summer with the wiring could have had “devastating and irreparable damage” to the building.
Additional documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen show that even without inhabitants, the residence racks up costly utility bills. The building’s January electric bill was nearly C$5,000, in addition to C$3,153 for gas and C$568 for water.
A recent poll from the Angus Reid Institute found that the majority of Canadians support investing in the prime minister’s residence – and blame “political cowardice” for inaction.
The NCC plans to begin asbestos and mold remediation in the spring but despite the high-profile nature of the building’s deficiencies, no formal decision has been made over its future.
