Conservative Party 'leader' Pierre Poilievre has decided to stay in his official opposition residence of Stornoway despite the fact that he is not supposed t...
Well, the GG has two official residences, as does the PM (although one of those isn’t currently usable). The Speaker of the House has one, and we have one reserved for visiting foreign heads of state. When Stornoway was given to the government, I guess the opposition leader seemed like the next most important person to give a house to. The government could try to sell it, but those kinds of large, multi-million-dollar historic buildings are always a problem to unload, and I understand that the area it’s in is sufficiently high-rent that property owners in the area would fight tooth and nail against any useful redevelopment.
I suppose it could be offered to the Chief Justice of Canada instead.
How exactly does this work? Why does the opposition leader get a mansion?
Well, the GG has two official residences, as does the PM (although one of those isn’t currently usable). The Speaker of the House has one, and we have one reserved for visiting foreign heads of state. When Stornoway was given to the government, I guess the opposition leader seemed like the next most important person to give a house to. The government could try to sell it, but those kinds of large, multi-million-dollar historic buildings are always a problem to unload, and I understand that the area it’s in is sufficiently high-rent that property owners in the area would fight tooth and nail against any useful redevelopment.
I suppose it could be offered to the Chief Justice of Canada instead.