Stornoway (residence)

Stornoway is the name of the official residence of the leader of the Official Opposition in Canada, and has been used as such since 1950. It is provided in recognition of the opposition leader's position and is located at 541 Acacia Avenue in the Rockcliffe Park area of Ottawa, Ontario.^[1][2] Stornoway has assessed value $4,225,000 (2008) (based on this value, which is only an approximation of the market value, the municipal property taxes are calculated) and is maintained with $70,000 a year in government funds. The National Capital Commission has owned and managed the property since April 1986. The lot size, with a frontage of 228 feet (69 m) and depth of 225 feet (69 m), is slightly irregular.

Stornoway
Exterior facade of Stornoway from the east
General information
Architectural style	Colonial Revival
Address	541 Acacia Avenue, K1M 0M4
Town or city	Rockcliffe Park Ottawa
Country	Canada
Coordinates	45°27′10″N 75°40′43″W
Current tenants	None
Construction started	1913
Completed	1914
Owner	The King in Right of Canada
Landlord	National Capital Commission
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Alan Keefer
Other information
Number of rooms	19

The property is 5.1 km (3.2 mi) from Ottawa's Parliament Buildings, whereas the prime minister's official residence is only 3.0 km (1.9 mi) away from Parliament. It is located in an area which contains many ambassadorial residences.

History

The house was built by architect Allan Keefer in 1914 for Ottawa grocer Ascanio J. Major and was given the name "Stornoway" by the second occupants, Irvine Gale Perley-Robertson and Ethel Lesa Perley, after the ancestral home of the Perley family in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.

During the Second World War, from summer 1941 to 1945, Mrs. Perley-Robertson offered Stornoway to (then) Princess Juliana of the Netherlands as a temporary home-in-exile for the Dutch royal family, including the future Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.^[3]

Stornoway has served its present role 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 of Canada.

Although the Bloc Québécois were the official Opposition from 1993 to 1997, party 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.^[4] His successors, Gilles Duceppe and Michel Gauthier, likewise did not reside in Stornoway.

Following the 1997 election, when the Reform Party of Canada became the Official Opposition, Reform leader Preston Manning also declined to move in, but for a different reason. Manning protested that Stornoway 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.^[5] He asked to be provided with a more "modest" residence, but soon moved into Stornoway after his refusal to do so began to be portrayed in the media as a mark of disrespect for his position as the leader of the Opposition.^[5]

Renovations from 2002 to 2006 included an overhaul of the living room and kitchen, repair of the chimney, replacement of carpets, refinishing of hardwood floors, and painting.

Jack Layton, who led the New Democratic Party to official Opposition status in the May 2, 2011 election, moved in a month later, but stated that he would continue to live in Toronto when Parliament was out of session.^[6][7] He died on August 22 of cancer;^[8] it was subsequently revealed that Layton and his wife Olivia Chow spent only one night in the house.^[4] His interim successor as NDP leader, Nycole Turmel, also did not formally move into the house, though she used Stornoway for entertaining purposes and slept over on occasion.^[9][10]

Of the leaders of the Opposition, John Reynolds, Bill Graham, Rona Ambrose, and Candice Bergen are the only interim party leaders to have resided at Stornoway; Bergen was the most recent such resident after being selected as interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada after Erin O'Toole was ousted as leader in a vote by Conservative MPs according to the terms of the Reform Act.^[11][12] Permanent Conservative leaders Andrew Scheer and Erin O'Toole moved in after their party elected them as leaders in its 2017 and 2020 leadership elections, respectively.

On April 28, 2025, the 2025 Canadian federal election was held to elect the 45th Canadian Parliament. The Leader of the Official Opposition, Pierre Poilievre, lost his seat in the Carleton federal electoral district and pursuant to the Official Residences Act is presently ineligible to remain at Stornoway.^[13] Poilievre is running in a by-election in the Battle River—Crowfoot federal electoral district to regain a seat in the House of Commons, which may restore his eligibility to remain at Stornoway.^[14]

List of residents

Completed in 1914, the building had three occupants prior to its acquisition by the Government of Canada. Ascanio Joseph Major, a local grocer, was the first occupant of Stornoway, residing there from 1914 to 1923. In 1923, the Perley-Robertson family acquired the home. From 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War, the Dutch royal family leased the home from the Perley-Robertson family.

Andrew Scheer (right foreground) with his family in Stornoway's kitchen, September 3, 2019. He served as leader of the Official Opposition from 2017 to 2020, thus residing in Stornoway.

In 1950, the building was acquired by a private trust, and later transferred to the Government of Canada. Since 1950, Stornoway has been used as the official residence of the leader of the official opposition in the House of Commons of Canada. Official opposition leaders (including interim leaders) who resided in Stornoway include:

• George A. Drew 1950–56^[a]
• Vacant, 1956–58 as William Earl Rowe, John Diefenbaker, and Louis St. Laurent did not use the house during their respective terms as opposition leader.^[15]
• Lester B. Pearson 1958–63
• John Diefenbaker 1963–67
• Robert Stanfield 1968–76
• Joe Clark 1976–79
• Pierre Trudeau 1979–80
• Joe Clark 1980–83^[b]
• Brian Mulroney 1983–84
• John Turner 1984–90
• Herb Gray February–December 1990
• Jean Chrétien 1990–93
• Vacant, 1993–97 as Bloc Québécois leaders Lucien Bouchard, Gilles Duceppe, and Michel Gauthier refused to use the house
• Preston Manning 1997–2000
• Vacant, March–September 2000, as Deborah Grey did not move into Stornoway.^[16]
• Stockwell Day 2000–01
• John Reynolds 2001–02
• Stephen Harper 2002–06^[c]
• Bill Graham February–December 2006
• Stéphane Dion 2006–08
• Michael Ignatieff 2008–11
• Jack Layton May–August 2011
• Nycole Turmel 2011–12
• Tom Mulcair 2012–15
• Rona Ambrose 2015–17
• Andrew Scheer 2017–20
• Erin O'Toole 2020–22
• Candice Bergen February–September 2022
• Pierre Poilievre 2022–present^[d]

Architecture

Stornoway is a 19-room mansion with eight bedrooms, five bathrooms, living room, sitting room (2nd floor), and dining room, and sits on extensive grounds.^[17]

Besides the residents in the home, Stornoway is served by a staff of three: a chef, chauffeur, and household administrator.^[17] As with 24 Sussex and Rideau Cottage, the public is not allowed to visit Stornoway.

See also

• Rideau Hall
• 24 Sussex Drive