Pierre Poilievre No Longer Entitled to Live at Public Mansion: Privy Council Office

After losing the election and his own seat, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre will also soon need to move out of his taxpayer-funded public mansion.

Stornoway, a 9,500-square-foot mansion in Ottawa’s tony Rockcliffe neighbourhood, has been the official residence of Canadian opposition leaders since the 1950s. The mansion is maintained by the National Capital Commission.

According to the Official Residences Act, Stornoway is mandated to be “maintained as a residence for the person holding the recognized position of Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons.”

On election night, Poilievre lost in his home riding of Carleton, meaning he is no longer a Member of Parliament. While Poilievre has not resigned as Conservative Party leader and already appears to be maneuvering to hold onto that job, he nonetheless lacks a seat in the House of Commons.

The role of “Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons” is not synonymous with the role of party leader, since the former is a formal parliamentary role that can only be filled by sitting members of parliament.

“To become the Leader of the Opposition, a person must hold a seat in the House of Commons,” a spokesperson for the Speaker of the House of Commons clarified to PressProgress. “Consequently, in instances where the national leader of a party was not a Member of the House of Commons, another Member of Parliament of that party served as Leader of the Opposition.”

According to the Library of Parliament, Poilievre’s final day as Leader of the Opposition was April 28, 2025.

In concrete terms, that means Poilievre can’t live in Stornoway anymore.

Stornoway (Photo: Luke LeBrun, PressProgress)

“An official residence is made available to the Leader of the Official Opposition, and Mr. Poilievre is the current leader of the Conservative Party of Canada,” a Privy Council Office spokesperson told PressProgress.

“Any questions on how the Conservative Party will manage its leadership in the House of Commons in the future, and therefore who will reside at the official residence, should be directed to the Conservative Party.”

Sarah Fischer, the Conservative Party of Canada’s communications director, did not respond to questions from PressProgress about whether Poilievre intends to vacate the property.

Built in 1913 by Ascanio Joseph Major, a 20th-century Canadian grocery baron, the mansion boasts 19 main rooms, hallways and washrooms, as well as an enclosed, flat-roofed one-storey veranda. Designed in a colonial revival style by architect Allan Keefer, Stornoway’s exterior walls are clad in rough-cast stucco and cocooned under a simple saddle-back roof with Bernese gables.

The property also includes a two-car garage with a second-storey loft that was previously used as the home of Stephen Harper’s former adviser, Ray Novak.

Stornoway (National Capital Commission)

Before Poilievre moved into the mansion in 2022, Stornoway had been called home by many who would later go on to become prime minister, like John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson and Brian Mulroney.

The mansion has also hosted those who would sadly never realize that dream, such as Robert Stanfield, Stockwell Day and Andrew Scheer.