Experience Regal Splendor at Rideau Hall

Since 1867, every governor general of Canada has resided and worked at Rideau Hall, an esteemed national heritage site. As the representative of the Crown in Canada, the governor general resides here, meets with the leader of Canada's government, entertains foreign dignitaries, and carries out state duties. The residence is also a designated national gathering place where the governor general awards honours and recognizes excellence. With its uniquity and grandness, the "classified" heritage building, as designated by the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office (FHBRO), is the largest official residence in Canada's Capital Region that is accessible to the public. Tours of the residence, art collections, and grounds are offered all year round, and the grounds are open to the public during all seasons for a range of activities, including concerts, ceremonies, celebrations, and sporting events.

Thomas McKay, a wealthy entrepreneur, constructed his elegant family home – the one known today as McKay's Castle – on the outskirts of Ottawa in 1838. In 1857, the capital of the Province of Canada was moved to Ottawa. Seven years later, the Government of Canada began searching for a country estate in the capital for the governor general. Although Rideau Hall was deemed inadequate in many ways, including its distance from central Ottawa, it was still leased to Lord Monck – the last governor general of British North America and the first governor general of the Dominion of Canada – as temporary quarters. In the following years, Rideau Hall saw gradual improvements and transformation to meet its official purposes, which culminated in it being accepted as the permanent seat of the governor general.

Today, Rideau Hall has about 175 rooms, covering some 8,825 square metres (95,000 square feet) in the main building. The grounds command some 32 hectares (79 acres) and 27 historic buildings, including rose gardens, rockeries, cricket lawns, and stands of trees. Since 1988, the NCC has overseen the management, planning, and completion of essential upgrades and regular maintenance for both the buildings and grounds. In 1998, the Rideau Hall grounds were designated as a cultural landscape of national historic significance, and they represent one of the finest historic landscapes in Canada. Under British landscape tradition, the grounds are divided into treed lawns, flowerbeds and service areas, with some areas remaining in a semi-wild state. Lastly, the area is also home to remarkable trees that are worthy of one's attention.

To book a tour or gain access to the grounds of Rideau Hall, visit the Rideau Hall website.

Rich British heritage, but will also reflect the distinctly Canadian nature of the grounds. During the 19th century, Rideau Hall served as a hub for a vibrant winter culture, with governors general and their families regularly participating in snowshoeing, tobogganing, skating and skiing.

In keeping with our commitment to preserving Canada's heritage, the NCC recently completed several rehabilitation projects at Rideau Hall. Among these was the ballroom rehabilitation project, which involved an investment of $1.75 million to address urgent structural issues, restore heritage plaster features, and upgrade fire suppression systems.

Other notable rehabilitation projects that we have undertaken recently or are currently working on include foundation repairs to Ambassador Court (0,000), sanitary sewer realignment (5,000) and fire pump replacement and sprinkler upgrades (5,000). Additionally, we have designed and constructed a new NCC service, maintenance and storage building in the operations zone to replace buildings that were demolished in 2016, with a budget of million.

Our work at Rideau Hall forms part of an ongoing program to ensure that all NCC-managed official residences are preserved, maintained and restored. In fact, we recently released the NCC's Official Residences of Canada: Asset Portfolio Condition Report, which outlines the investment required to restore all the official residences to good condition. According to the report, Rideau Hall requires over $100 million in work, with the main residence alone requiring $31 million of maintenance.

To achieve this, we have proposed a series of upgrades and improvements for Rideau Hall that include universal accessibility studies and upgrades, exterior envelope improvements, foundation and footing work, copper roof replacement, membrane roof replacement, replacement of interior floor finishes, replacement of elevators and air-handling equipment, system upgrades, and the replacement of electrical wiring, panels and lighting fixtures, fire alarm systems and hardwood flooring.

Finally, we are in the process of developing a master plan for Rideau Hall, in consultation with key stakeholders like the RCMP and the OSGG. This plan will acknowledge the rich British heritage of the residence while seeking to reflect the distinctly Canadian quality of the grounds.