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Does Canada even need official residences for its leading dignitaries?

We’re today cornered with the question. Since taking office in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family have not occupied 24 Sussex Drive, home to drafts and mice and cobwebbed plans, for a single day. With (low) renovation estimates in the $10-million range, it is unclear whether a prime minister will ever lay his head on a pillow there again.

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As for Rideau Hall, the office of Gov. Gen. Julie Payette confirmed this week she still has not moved in to the massive heritage mansion, 320-some-odd days after her swearing-in last October. The reason? Damn renos again. And there is no scheduled move-in date for Payette.

An email from Marie-Ève Létourneau, a senior communications adviser in the GG’s office, put it this way:

“Renovations are common and work is still ongoing, in particular for the restoration of the Ballroom, the foundations and to remove asbestos.