Politics Briefing: Poilievre says new official residence for the Prime Minister would be his lowest priority

Hello,

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Tuesday that renovating or building a new official residence for the prime minister will be at the bottom of his to-do list should his party form government after the next election.

“Of my list of priorities, this will probably be the last. We don’t need a new home for the prime minister. We need a new home for working-class Canadians,” he told reporters at a news conference in Oshawa, Ont.

Mr. Poilievre was responding to questions about a CBC News report, which said, citing sources, that the government is leaning toward giving up on the idea of repairing 24 Sussex, the prime minister’s official residence.

The building, which backs onto the Ottawa River, has remained vacant since Justin Trudeau opted not to move in to the home he grew up in as the son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau. Sources told the CBC that the building is too run down and that the grounds are too small. Other options are being looked at in the city’s Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood, which is slightly north of 24 Sussex and home to many large houses on big lots that serve as diplomatic residences. Rockcliffe Park is also the location of Stornoway, the official residence of the leader of the official opposition, where Mr. Poilievre and his family live.

In April, Mr. Trudeau told reporters that he is leaving the fate of 24 Sussex Dr. to the National Capital Commission, a federal body that manages the property. The NCC has said it would cost at least $36.6-million to restore 24 Sussex.

“I know there have been ongoing consultations and important processes to balance the historical heritage nature of that building and the needs of government and of Canadians going forward,” Mr. Trudeau said at the time.

During that news conference, Mr. Trudeau described Rideau Cottage, located on the grounds of Rideau Hall in Ottawa, as a “smaller but better place.” The Prime Minister hosted U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, at Rideau Cottage during a visit in March.

Mr. Poilievre said Tuesday that the prime minister’s residence does not need to be big enough to host large receptions. He said it “should be reasonable and practical, to provide for the ability to receive dignitaries,” and to have security.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written today by Bill Curry. Regular author Ian Bailey will return soon. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you’re reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.

TODAY’S HEADLINES

Arrest warrants issued – Federal authorities have active arrest warrants for 300 foreign criminals who have been deemed a danger to the public and are facing deportation from Canada, including sex offenders and people convicted of violent crimes, according to the Canada Border Services Agency. It is trying to track down more than 37,000 foreigners who may pose a flight risk, may not voluntarily agree to be questioned or attend an immigration hearing, or who may pose a danger to the public. Globe and Mail story here.

Trans Mountain pullout – The federal government’s plan to sell at least part of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project to Indigenous owners has entered a new stage, with Ottawa indicating it’s prepared to provide financial backing to First Nations and Métis communities to help them acquire ownership stakes in the pipeline. One group that had been pursuing a stake is leaving the field. Globe and Mail story here.

Emergency alert system relies on dwindling cable revenues – Cable-television subscribers will continue to fund Canada’s life-saving alert system for at least three more years, after the CRTC chose not to adjust an arrangement that government officials have suggested is unsustainable and which was criticized by the commission looking into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced this month that until 2026 it would maintain scores of licences for the cable-television industry, including one that funds the national alert aggregation and dissemination system. Globe and Mail story here.

THIS AND THAT

Both the House of Commons and the Senate are on breaks. The House sits again on Sept. 18. The Senate sits again on Sept. 19.

THE DECIBEL

On Monday, Montreal police said the Old Montreal fire that killed seven people in March is now being treated as a criminal investigation. Alongside police looking into persons of interest, The Globe’s Montreal-based reporter Frédérik-Xavier Duhamel reported on the many safety violations in the burned-out building that Montreal and Quebec officials had known about for more than a decade. He uncovered a moratorium on enforcing evacuation route violations that had been in place since 2018 but was quietly lifted in the days after the fire.

His investigations are trying to answer: How did this happen and who is ultimately responsible for the deaths of seven victims and the safety of Montrealers?

Listen to the podcast here or on your favourite podcast app.

PRIME MINISTER’S DAY

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in the National Capital Region Tuesday. His schedule lists “private meetings” and no public events.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is on a tour of Atlantic Canada. She is scheduled to hold a midday news conference in Moncton related to child care.

LEADERS

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is scheduled to hold a news conference in Oshawa, Ont. No public events have been announced for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh or Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet.

OPINION

Tony Keller (The Globe and Mail) on how to fix a broken foreign student visa system: “Marc Miller, the new federal immigration minister, gets it. Whether he plans to fix it; whether the Prime Minister’s Office is interested in fixing it; and whether the provinces will help all remain to be seen. The ‘it’ is Canada’s student visa program. Its defects and side effects have been getting a lot of attention, mostly in relation to housing prices. The fact that more than 800,000 visa students were in Canada last year, compared with fewer than 200,000 a decade and a half ago, is one of many contributors to a growing mismatch between housing demand and supply. It’s not discriminatory to point this out. It’s just math.”

The Globe and Mail editorial board on the shortage of teachers, which is particularly acute in Quebec: “The notion of an untrained person trying to herd two dozen Grade 1 students into some semblance of educational order is upsetting to every parent who contemplates it. But Quebec is not alone. A number of other provinces, most notably British Columbia, are going through years-long teacher shortages of lesser severity that have sometimes resulted in uncertified teachers at the blackboard.”

Gail Lethbridge (Halifax Chronicle-Herald) writes that the Liberals should act on pharmacare: “If Justin Trudeau wants to turn the fortunes of his Liberals around in a hurry, he should get cracking on that long-promised national pharmacare program. Right now he needs a get-out-of-jail card to counter the fatigue and downright disdain Canadians are feeling toward his government after a long pandemic, inflation, high interest rates and carbon taxes, among other things. And Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are biting at his heels and surging ahead in the polls. A national pharmacare program could be the medicine for Trudeau’s flagging Liberals.”

Paul Wells (substack) on the Prime Minister’s low polling numbers after a summer shuffle and cabinet retreat aimed at turning Liberal fortunes around: “He could quit, although he must know that none of his successors seems likely to invigorate the party. Perhaps some day he’ll decide that’s no longer his problem, but I suspect he’ll stay. If he lasts another year, he’ll have passed St. Laurent, Borden and Mulroney in longevity, to become Canada’s seventh longest-serving prime minister. Another year after that and he’d pass Stephen Harper.”

Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.