24 Sussex Drive 24 Sussex Drive 24 Sussex Drive, originally called "Gorffwysfa" and usually referred to simply as 24 Sussex, is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada, located in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario. Built between 1866 and 1868 by Joseph Merrill Currier, it has been the official home of the Prime Minister of Canada since 1951. It is one of two official residences made available to the prime minister, the Harrington Lake estate in nearby Gatineau Park being the other. The house at 24 Sussex Drive was originally commissioned in 1866 by lumberman and Member of Parliament
Harrington Lake for several decades. Since the land was not suitable for farming, the lumber industry replaced it as the primary economic activity. In the early 20th century, two Americans, W. A. Drum and W. L. Donnelly, built a sawmill at Harrington Lake to serve the lumber industry. In the 1920s, Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Macpherson Edwards, a member of a prominent lumbering family in Ottawa, inherited part of the property from his uncle, Senator William Cameron Edwards (who had owned 24 Sussex Drive). He recognized the value of the land for recreation, as well as for lumber. He purchased more land around