Stornoway (residence)

Stornoway (residence)
Stornoway
General information
Town or city	541 Acacia Avenue Rockcliffe Park Ottawa
Country	Canada
Coordinates	45.4527943°N 75.6785345°W / 45.4527943; -75.6785345
Current tenants	Leader of the Official Opposition
Design and construction
Owner	The Queen in Right of Canada
Landlord	National Capital Commission
Architect	Alan Keefer

Stornoway is the name of the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition in Canada, and has been used as such since 1950. It is provided in recognition of the opposition leader's position. Located at 541 Acacia Avenue in the Rockcliffe Park area of Ottawa, Stornoway has assessed value $4,225,000 (2008) (based on this value, which is only approximation of market value, the municipal property taxes are calculated) and is maintained with $70,000 a year in government funds. The property is owned by the National Capital Commission since April 1988. The lot size, with a frontage of 228 ft and depth of 225 ft, is slightly irregular.

It is some distance from Ottawa's Parliament Buildings, about 1.5 km farther than the Prime Minister's official residence. It is located in an area which contains many ambassadorial residences.

Recently deceased (22 August 2011) Jack Layton, the last leader of the New Democratic Party, was the latest resident of Stornoway.

List of residents

Present and previous residents of the house include:

Official residents

• Jack Layton 2011
• Michael Ignatieff 2009–2011
• Stéphane Dion 2006–2008
• Bill Graham 2006
• Stephen Harper 2002–2004, 2004–2006
• John Reynolds 2004
• Stockwell Day 2000–2001
• Preston Manning 1997–2000
• Jean Chrétien 1990–1993
• John Turner 1984–1990
• Brian Mulroney 1983–1984
• Pierre Trudeau 1979–1980
• Joe Clark 1976–1979, 1980–1983
• Robert Stanfield 1968–1976
• John Diefenbaker 1963–1967
• Lester B. Pearson 1958–1963
• George A. Drew 1950–1955

Prior residents of Stornoway

• Dutch Royal Family 1942–1945, leased to them by Perley-Robertson
• Mr and Mrs Irvine Perley-Robertson 1923–1941
• Ascanio Joseph Major 1914–1923, local grocer

History

The house was built by architect Alan Keefer in 1914 for Ottawa grocer Ascanio J. Major and was given the name “Stornoway” by the second occupants, the Perley-Robertsons, after the ancestral home of the Perley family in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.

During the Second World War, it served as the temporary home-in-exile of future Queen (then-princess) Juliana of the Netherlands and her family, including the current Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

Stornoway has served its present purpose as the Official Opposition Leader's residence since 1950, when it was purchased by a group of concerned citizens and later transferred to the government.

Although the Bloc Québécois were the official opposition from 1993 to 1997, leader Lucien Bouchard declined to move into the residence as a mark of protest against the federal government, choosing instead to live in nearby Gatineau, Quebec. His successors as Bloc party leaders also did not reside in Stornoway.

Following the 1997 election, where the Reform Party displaced the Bloc Québécois to become the largest opposition party, the new official opposition leader, Preston Manning, declined to move in for a different reason: he protested that it was too extravagant and a waste of taxpayer money, even joking that it should be used as a bingo hall to pay off the national debt. Manning asked that he be provided with a more 'modest' residence, but soon moved into Stornoway.^{[citation needed]}

Renovations from 2002 to 2006 overhauled the living room, kitchen, repair of the chimney, replacement of carpets, refinishing of hardwood floors and painting, among other things.

Jack Layton, who had led the NDP to official opposition status in the 2011 election, moved in a month after the election, but stated that he would continue to live in Toronto when parliament is out of session. He passed away a few months later of cancer. The NDP's upcoming 2012 leadership race will have a higher entry fee for candidates, in part because the winner will receive the keys to Stornoway.

Out of the Leaders of the Opposition, John Reynolds and Bill Graham are the only interim party leaders to have resided at Stornoway, all other residents have been permanent party leaders (ratified at a leadership convention).^{[citation needed]}

Inside Stornoway

Stornoway is a 34 room mansion with eight bedrooms, five bathrooms, living room, sitting room (2nd floor), and dining room, and sits on extensive grounds.

Besides the residents in the home, Stornoway is served by a staff of three: a chef, chauffeur, and house administrator.

See also

• Rideau Hall
• 24 Sussex Drive

External links

• Stornoway in the Directory of Federal Real Property
• Stornoway