A B.C. woman is calling on the federal government to stop funding the home of the federal opposition leader.
Carole Burman wants to put an end to the 75-year-old perk, so she’s launched a Commons petition calling on the government to stop funding Stornoway.
This is where the leader of the official Opposition lives.
“Currently in the G7, no other country provides funding or housing for the leader of the Opposition,” Burman told Global News.
The 9,500 square-foot, 19-room mansion was built in 1914, bought by a trust to house the Opposition leader in the 1950s, and sold to the federal government in the 70s.
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Preston Manning initially refused to move in when he first became leader of the Opposition, calling it too extravagant, but politicians of all stripes, from Stephen Harper and Stephane Dion to Thomas Mulcair and now Pierre Poilievre, have called it home this century.
“I think we should maintain it as part of our heritage of Canada, as part of our democracy and I’m happy to see Pierre Poilievre living in Stornoway,” Scott Heatherington, president of the Rockcliffe Park Residents Association, said.
But it comes at a cost. A 2021 report found the average annual operating and maintenance costs for Stornoway were nearly $80,000 and it needed an investment of $1.25 million over a decade to address deferred maintenance.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May is sponsoring the online petition.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that a citizen in Victoria — I’m proud to call her a constituent — Carole Burman, has sparked a national conversation,” May said.
It comes as plans to restore the prime minister’s official residence at 24 Sussex Dr. move ahead and a fundraising campaign is under way to raise $50 million to carry out the work.
Poilievre previously stated he is not impressed with that plan.
“I just think the last thing on our minds should be 24 Sussex Dr.,” he said.
But as Berman’s petition gains momentum, she says her quest is about prudence, not politics.
“The petition is asking that Canadian taxpayers no longer fund Stornoway, regardless of the occupant,” she said.
Once the petition is presented to parliament in the fall, the government will have 45 days to respond.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
