In its search for a “world class design vision” to restore the official prime minister’s residence at 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, the federal government is prioritizing the use of Canadian materials and mandating Indigenous involvement in the multi-million-dollar project.
Last month, Public Services and Procurement Canada published its request for qualification (RFQ), the first of two stages in its design-building competition for the historic home’s rehabilitation.
The largely technical, 97-page document “defines the requirements for the qualification of respondents,” sets a “basis for selection,” and breaks down the scoring system that’ll be used to create a list of up to seven firms that will be invited to partake in stage two and submit a formal request for proposal, which is expected to be issued this winter.
The RFQ deadline is Sept. 22 at 2 p.m.
A successful bidder will be awarded in fall 2027, which is later than the July 1 date Prime Minister Mark Carney set when announcing the non-partisan fundraising campaign led by the Rideau Hall Foundation to fund the project.
“The time period between the announcement of the winning proposal and the estimated contract award of Fall 2027 is reserved for any final negotiations that may be required between Canada and the winning team,” PSPC told National Post in an email.
“Given its national and historical significance, the rehabilitated residence must be completed by Canadians for Canadians,” reads the RFQ, issued on Aug. 21.
“In that spirit, the use of Canadian materials and innovations must be considered and incorporated throughout the project.”
Respondents will be required to comply with the “Buy Canadian” policies Ottawa enacted last September in an effort to “protect, build and transform” strategic industries within the country.
Companies need not be Canadian to meet the mandatory requirement of being considered a “Canadian supplier,” but they must have a place of business and office in Canada, where they are registered and pay taxes, and employ Canadians or conduct “day-to-day business activities in Canada.”
It also means they “will not subcontract work to non-Canadian suppliers or individuals located outside Canada, in a manner that results in minimal value-added activities being performed within Canada.”
Respondents must also submit an “Indigenous Participation Plan (IPP)” that ensures at least five per cent of project work is carried out by Indigenous businesses and people. Public Services and Procurement Canada said any IPP commitments made in the RFP stage “will become deliverables in the resulting contract, subject to regular progress monitoring and reporting (and potentially other measures).”
Sussex Drive, along with the rest of Parliament Hill, is the ancestral territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation, with which PSPC said “engagements have been undertaken” and will be reflected in the RFP and “inform the site’s design.”
As for the design, the RFQ offers little in the way of new details about the work that’s needed to repair and modernize the more than 160-year-old house that became the official prime minister’s residence in 1950 — the last time it had “a comprehensive rehabilitation.”
“The project shall provide a secure, dignified, functional, and adaptable environment that supports residential, official, ceremonial, and administrative functions while meeting current codes, standards, and operational requirements,” it notes.
The successful bidder’s “work will include the modernization of building systems, upgrades to meet applicable codes and standards, and the integration of security, sustainability and accessibility requirements.”
The 35-room, 12,000-square-foot home has been vacant since 2015 when prime minister Stephen Harper left office. His successor, Justin Trudeau, lived there as a child when his father was prime minister but opted to move his own family to Rideau Cottage, across the street on the grounds of the Governor General’s residence at Rideau Hall. Carney and his family followed suit when he was elected last year.
The numerous problems at 24 Sussex include mould, water infiltration, corroding plumbing, asbestos and a lingering stench of dead rodents in the walls from a past infestation.
The National Capital Commission decommissioned the site in 2022.
The RFQ also doesn’t indicate any construction budget, with PSPC noting it will show up in the RFP. Earlier this year, architects interviewed by National Post estimated that, depending on specifications, the bill for this type of major project could be anywhere between $40 million and $100 million.
That figure tracks with a requirement for prospective designers to submit a completed “complex building project” worth at least $50 million pre-tax as part of their RFQ response.
Meanwhile, as of July 27, Canadians had donated about $735,000 toward the project, according to the Rideau Hall Foundation . National Post has contacted it for an updated tally.
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