24 Sussex Drive

24 Sussex Drive 24, promenade Sussex (French)
North-east façade of 24 Sussex Drive
General information
Architectural style	Norman Revival
Town or city	Ottawa, Ontario
Country	Canada
Coordinates	45°26′40″N 75°41′38″W / 45.444348°N 75.693934°W / 45.444348; -75.693934Coordinates: 45°26′40″N 75°41′38″W / 45.444348°N 75.693934°W / 45.444348; -75.693934
Current tenants	None
Construction started	1866
Client	Joseph Merrill Currier
Owner	The Queen in Right of Canada
Landlord	National Capital Commission
Design and construction
Architect	Joseph Merrill Currier

24 Sussex Drive, originally called Gorffwysfa and usually referred to simply as 24 Sussex, is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada, located in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario. Built between 1866 and 1868 by Joseph Merrill Currier, it has been the official home of the Prime Minister of Canada since 1951. It is one of two official residences made available to the prime minister, the Harrington Lake estate in nearby Gatineau Park being the other.

The house at 24 Sussex Drive was originally commissioned in 1866 by lumberman and Member of Parliament Joseph Merrill Currier as a wedding gift for his wife-to-be. It was completed in 1868 and Currier named it Gorffwysfa, Welsh for "place of rest." It sold for $30,000 in 1901, after Currier's wife, Hannah, died, to William Cameron Edwards.

In 1943, the federal Crown-in-Council used its power of expropriation to divest Gordon Edwards, nephew of William, of his title to the house, to consolidate public ownership of the lands along the Ottawa River. Edwards had fought the action, but eventually lost the dispute with the Canadian government in 1946 and died at the house later that year. After several years of uncertainty, in 1950 the government decided to refurbish the property as a residence for the prime minister, the renovations costing just over $500,000.Louis St. Laurent was the first to take up residence in 1951. Since then, every prime minister—except for Kim Campbell (who resided at Harrington Lake) and, to date, Justin Trudeau (who has opted to reside at Rideau Cottage pending a review of work needed to repair the house)—has resided at 24 Sussex Drive for the duration of their mandates. Previous prime ministers lived at a variety of locations around Ottawa: Sir Wilfrid Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King, for instance, lived at Laurier House in Sandy Hill. Laurier House was willed to the Crown upon Mackenzie King's death in 1950 and was thus also available for designation as the prime minister's official residence at the time.