24 Sussex Drive
Overview
Official residence
An official residence is the residence at which heads of state, heads of government, gubernatorial or other senior figures officially reside...
of the Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, located in the New Edinburgh
New Edinburgh
New Edinburgh is a small neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada. It is located to the east of the downtown core. It is bordered on the west by the Rideau River, to the north by the Ottawa River, to the south by Beechwood Avenue, to the east the border is less regular but is marked in part by Springfield...
neighbourhood of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Built between 1866 and 1868 by Joseph Merrill Currier
Joseph Merrill Currier
Joseph Merrill Currier was a Canadian member of parliament and businessman.He was born in North Troy, Vermont in 1820 and moved to Canada in 1837, where he began work in the timber trade. Around 1850, he set up a sawmill and gristmill operation at Manotick, Ontario with Moss Kent Dickinson...
, it has been the official home of the Canadian prime minister since 1951.
The house at 24 Sussex Drive
Sussex Drive
Sussex Drive is a major street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and one of the city's major ceremonial and institutional routes....
was originally commissioned in 1866 by lumberman and Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Joseph Merrill Currier
Joseph Merrill Currier
Joseph Merrill Currier was a Canadian member of parliament and businessman.He was born in North Troy, Vermont in 1820 and moved to Canada in 1837, where he began work in the timber trade. Around 1850, he set up a sawmill and gristmill operation at Manotick, Ontario with Moss Kent Dickinson...
as a wedding gift for his wife to be. He named it Gorffwysfa, Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
for "place of rest."
In 1943, the federal Crown used its sovereign power of expropriation
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
to divest Gordon Edwards
Gordon Cameron Edwards
Gordon Cameron Edwards was a Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was born in Thurso and became a lumber merchant....
of his title to the house, in order to put it to its current use.
