Prime Minister Mark Carney said the national fundraising campaign for the refurbishment of the prime minister’s official residence will place a limit on donations and make the list of donors public to ensure transparency in the project.
Carney said the Rideau Hall Foundation, which is running the fundraising campaign, will make a final decision on donation limits, but his “thinking is the limit would be 10 per cent of the overall amount raised or a specific cap.”
The donations will only be accepted if they are from individual Canadian citizens, permanent residents or philanthropic organizations. Corporations will not be allowed to participate.
“The way the process is designed is we have the Rideau Hall Foundation overseeing the fundraising [with] no influence at all on the decisions,” Carney said.
On Friday, Carney outlined the government’s plan to restore the home at 24 Sussex Drive, which has fallen into disrepair and become uninhabitable after years of neglect.
The prime minister did not provide a cost estimate for the refurbishment of the property, saying he will let the design teams first provide specifications for the official residence, with costs following on from that.
“I don’t want to be too forward on what the budget is for this,” Carney said. “In many respects that’s part of the competition … I don’t want to be saying you should put the dining room on the second floor.”
The design and build competition announced Friday to modernize 24 Sussex will be open to eligible Canadian design firms.
Should Canadians be asked to donate to restore 24 Sussex? Tap here to join the conversation.
The competition itself will be overseen by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, which will put together an independent jury of experts in architecture, heritage conservation and design.
The jury’s members are: Carol Bélanger, Nicolas Demers-Stoddart, Omar Gandhi, Mamie Griffith, Patricia Kell and Brigitte Shim. It will be chaired by Moshe Safdie.
The winning proposal will be announced by Canada Day 2027.
A symbol of Canadian democracy
Carney noted that while the official residence is still standing, it’s been gutted to the studs and has been sitting vacant for more than a decade.
The design-and-build competition, Carney said Friday, will restore 24 Sussex so it can once again serve as “a secure, accessible and sustainable official residence and a working venue for Canada’s future prime ministers.”
“A nation is more than the people who live in it today. It includes everyone who came before us, and everyone who will come after,” Carney said.
The prime minister said 24 Sussex, which was built in 1868, is a symbol of Canada’s democracy and an important part of its history, having played host to Queen Elizabeth II, Sir Winston Churchill and U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
“Our institutions are how we carry forward what we were given, and how we pass it on, at least intact, ideally improved, to those who follow,” he said. “24 Sussex Drive is one of these institutions. And we will not let it crumble. We will set it right.”
Asked why he decided to seek donations rather than use tax revenues, Carney said his government has a lot of priorities, all of which are competing for government funding.
The prime minister said those priorities include infrastructure, national defence, sovereignty in the Arctic, health care, the arts and charitable endeavors at home and abroad.
When weighing those responsibilities, Carney said it was difficult to ignore how many private Canadians had reached out asking if they could financially support 24 Sussex Drive’s refurbishment.
“The structure here is a response to incoming interest in supporting this project,” he said.
Carney thanked former prime ministers Stephen Harper and Jean Chrétien’s advocacy for the renovation. He also thanked former prime ministers Joe Clark, Kim Campbell, Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau, who, together with Brian Mulroney’s widow, Mila Mulroney, have publicly backed the project.
A home for other prime ministers, Carney says
Canadian prime ministers and their families have lived at Rideau Cottage, a former residence of the secretary to the Governor General, located on the grounds of Rideau Hall.
By the time Carney came into office the 24 Sussex had been gutted to remove mould, asbestos and rodents, leaving him little choice but to move into the cottage.
Carney said Friday that while the cottage works as a place for a family to live, and he is grateful for the security provided by the RCMP, he wants a residence at 24 Sussex restored for future prime ministers.
“Rideau Cottage is not the long-term solution. It is where I will live as prime minister. Just to be clear, this is for future prime ministers and really for Canadians in restoring one of our institutions,” Carney said.

Time to grab your maple leaf-shaped sequins and best glittery hockey jerseys: Canada is one step closer to participating in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the annual music competition, announced Thursday that Canada’s national public broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada was now a full member of the group, paving the way for the country’s participation in Eurovision.
Entering Europe’s glitziest song contest has been one of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s goals since taking office in 2025, when his government’s budget included 150 million Canadian dollars in funding for CBC and proposed “working with CBC/Radio Canada to explore participation in Eurovision.”
“Canada’s voice in this community makes us stronger,” said Noel Curran, director general of the EBU.
Not since Céline Dion won Eurovision in 1988, representing Switzerland, has Canada been this close to claiming a spot in the iconic song contest — though it is still unclear whether or when the country will participate. A spokesperson for CBC/Radio-Canada confirmed “we will have more information … at a later date.”
Canada would not be the first non-European country to walk the glittery stage. Israel joined in 1973, Morocco competed once in 1980, and Australia joined in 2015.
Escalating controversy over Israel’s participation in recent years poses questions about the competition’s future, with five countries boycotting the 2026 show over Israel’s military actions in Gaza. This year’s winner, Bulgaria, narrowly beat Israel in the final and will host the 2027 contest, avoiding a nightmare scenario for the EBU.

The federal government is launching a competition to find a Canadian firm to redesign and rebuild 24 Sussex Dr., the long-neglected official residence that Canada’s prime ministers have been unable to live in since 2015 because of its physical decline.
The winner will be announced on Canada Day in 2027, two government sources said.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources, because they were not authorized to disclose internal government plans.
They added that the cost of the project will be paid for mostly or entirely through a national, non-partisan fundraising effort led by the Rideau Hall Foundation, a non-profit associated with the office of the Governor-General.
The plan, which the sources said would be announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday, is aimed at resolving an issue that previous governments have put off dealing with, and addressing criticism about the designated prime ministerial residence being in such poor shape.
One of the sources said the rebuilt house would have security features, but that broader security arrangements would be worked out with the RCMP at another time.
Editorial: The restoration of 24 Sussex is worth the price
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada will advise on the framework for the competition, which will be open only to Canadian competitors, the sources said.
They said the institute will also establish a jury for the project chaired by architect Moshe Safdie, who has been involved with many acclaimed projects in Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada and Vancouver Library Square.
24 Sussex Dr. was built in 1868 and acquired by the federal government in 1949. It was renovated and first occupied by Liberal prime minister Louis St. Laurent in 1951.
A succession of subsequent prime ministers – including John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney and Jean Chrétien – lived in the house. Its most recent occupant was Stephen Harper, who departed in 2015 after Justin Trudeau led the Liberals to victory.
Justin Trudeau lived in the home as a child, with his father. But he and his family were unable to live there during his time as Prime Minister because of its physical state, and he moved into Rideau Cottage instead.
In 2022, the National Capital Commission, which manages official residences in the Ottawa area, announced that it would clear out the house entirely, pending a decision from the federal government on what to do about the property.
The following year, media obtained documents in which commission staff testified to the residence’s decrepit state: an attempt to control a rodent infestation had left such a large volume of carcasses and excrement in the walls, basement and attic that officials feared for the home’s air quality.
The commission eventually removed asbestos and other hazardous materials, as well obsolete heating, mechanical and electrical systems. Photos on the commission website show parts of the home as gutted shells, and other parts with some heritage features carefully preserved.
On Thursday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Mr. Carney had not consulted him on plans for 24 Sussex.
He deflected several times during a news conference when asked for his views on what should happen to the property.
“I just don’t think about it at all,” he said.
“I just think, when I go around this country and I meet so many people who can’t afford a place to live, when I see the homelessness in our streets, and I see the young people who are desperate to start families but can’t get a house to do it, I just think the last thing on our line should be 24 Sussex Drive.”
Mr. Carney has recently been saying that his government is working on a plan to deal with 24 Sussex Dr., in co-operation with the National Capital Commission.
At a meeting of the commission’s board of directors this week, chief executive officer Tobi Nussbaum hinted at imminent action on the issue, saying the federal government was actively engaged on the file.
In addition to 24 Sussex Dr., the Prime Minister has access to a country residence at Harrington Lake in Quebec. As Leader of the Official Opposition, Mr. Poilievre has access to Stornoway, a residence near 24 Sussex Dr.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump talked about NATO, Iran and the wider security situation in the Middle East on Wednesday in what the prime minister described as a “constructive conversation.”
Speaking at a news conference heading into Parliament’s summer break on Thursday, the prime minister said the president called him and the talks, at times, involved senior White House officials, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
A readout from the Prime Minister’s Office, shortly after the conversation on Wednesday, referenced only the talks about NATO. The conversation happened on the same day as the Western alliance’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, met Trump in the Oval Office in preparation for next month’s leaders’ summit in Ankara, Turkey.
“We had a long discussion with him,” said Carney, adding that only a portion of what they talked about related to NATO. “Some related to the situation in Iran and the broader Middle East, both current and structural issues. It was a very constructive conversation, those things we’re working on together. I think those are best left till they come to fruition.”
Canada and other allies have committed to defensive, independent maritime missions to conduct mine clearance and reassure commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed during the war with the United States and Israel. One of the long-term structural proposals Canada has been involved in includes the establishment of an independent Hormuz International Maritime Authority to prevent future economic blockades.
Additionally, Canada has been actively co-ordinating G7 pressure to ensure Iran doesn’t stall verification of its uranium stockpile. It is pushing for comprehensive International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to heavily damaged enrichment sites.
Carney also revealed he spoke with Trump about how Canada is working with other NATO allies to secure the Arctic.
During the question and answer session with journalists, he underlined Canada’s increase in defence investment and predicted that the country will be spending four per cent of the gross domestic product on defence by 2029 (2.5 per cent directly on the military and 1.5 per cent on defence infrastructure).
That’s the year the alliance is scheduled to formally review the spending benchmark.
On Thursday, Rutte said alliance members are expected to unveil tens ​of billions ​of dollars in new defence-related ​contracts at ‌the ⁠Ankara summit, which takes place July 7-8.
Trump complained openly during his meeting with the secretary general about NATO’s reluctance to support the U.S.-led war with Iran — remarks Rutte gently pushed back on.
“I know there have been isolated cases about which you are really disappointed, but generally speaking, your European allies have been there with you,” Rutte said during an awkward Oval Office exchange that included the secretary general showing Trump oversized spending charts.
Stephen Saideman, who holds the Paterson Chair in International Affairs at Carleton University, said despite Rutte’s performance, there are signs allies are growing weary of the rhetoric coming out of the Trump administration.
“The Iran war has been absolutely awful for everybody and the alliance was not advised about it ahead of time,” Saideman said. “Trump’s demands to be extracted from his own mistake by having the Europeans fix the Strait of Hormuz for him, I don’t know how far that’s gonna go.”
He pointed to the recent social media dust-up betweenTrump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. She had been on cordial terms with the U.S. president until he insisted that Meloni had begged him to take a photo together — a claim she denied.
“She is a far-right politician,” Saideman said. “She should get along with Trump. Yet, he antagonized her, bullying her. While the allies have done a fair amount of effort to try to soothe his fevered brow, there’s only so much they can take.
“And if he pushes really hard, you may see some people pushing back because, not only are they human beings, but they all have audiences that absolutely loathe Donald Trump.”

Known by acronyms that need no explanation, viruses like Covid, Sars and Ebola conjure up images of medics in protective suits and spark fear in populations worldwide.
Vaccines for individual viruses have provided some relief, but new strains pose a constant challenge.
Now, new AI-aided vaccine technology developed by scientists at Cambridge University offer potential immunity against whole families of viruses and could even prevent the next pandemic, according to researchers.
Professor Jonathan Heeney of Cambridge University likened the new technique to having the “master key” for an apartment block.
The main problem with vaccines, he said, was that they were “all historic” so the strain you are vaccinated with might not be the one you end up being exposed to in six months time.
Vaccines were “always chasing the virus”, the project lead researcher told AFP in an interview.
“So we’re getting rid of that variability by making something that’s across the board recognizable by your immune system that should cover you from all these eventualities … a real big paradigm change,” he said.
Canadian Heeney, of the lab of viral zoonotics at Cambridge University’s Department of Veterinary Medicine, began work on the project after the 2013-16 Ebola outbreak in west Africa where he was then based.
Ebola had previously been seen in the central African Democratic Republic of Congo, not in west Africa and it was initially misidentified as lassa fever, gastroenteritis or cholera.
The west African outbreak eventually claimed around 11,300 lives, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
But Heeney said three or four months were spent trying to discover what it was before work could even begin on a vaccine.
“In that time, it spread from Guinea, to Sierra Leone to Liberia, three different countries quickly. The horse had bolted, the fire was raging,” he said, adding many health workers were among the victims.
Returning to Cambridge after the west African outbreak, Heeney said there was a determination that “we’ve got to change the way this works, we can’t go through it again”.
Harnessing early AI, he said, his team used all the information they could get about various viruses and brought it together.
This allowed them to look for the “similarities and the differences in the important parts of the virus that the immune system responds to”, recognizing not just one variant but all of them.
The new technology was all the more vital given the frequency with which viruses are now emerging due to population growth, greater movement across borders and human encroachment on animal habitats, he said.
Viruses that had previously existed harmlessly, residing in animals that had grown resistant, were coming into contact with a new species, humans, and “wow, there’s no immunity, no natural defenses… and the virus goes crazy”, he said.
A trial involving 39 volunteers — sponsored by the University Hospital Southampton and published in the Journal of Infection — found “no significant safety concerns” with the universal Sarbeco coronavirus vaccine made using the AI-aided technology.
The vaccine developed by the Cambridge scientists and biotechnoloy firm DIOSynVax will now move to larger tests.
Plagues have existed throughout history, said Heeney, from the Black Death of the Middle Ages to the 1918-20 influenza pandemic which killed an estimated 25-50 million globally.
Heeney’s most pressing concern was a potential influenza outbreak, he said, describing it as one of the “trickier” viruses.
But he was hopeful the new technology could help prevent another deadly pandemic.
“Now, there’s a whole different layer of AI, and we have a team using the latest AI technology … to build a real powerful platform so we can work even faster with more data,” he said.
“This, I hope is the start of a whole new era of vaccine manufacturing … From my point of view it’s about proving this technology to the world that it’s safe, that it’s more effective and actually jump on board.
“I think this opens the door to a whole new kind of technology. Hopefully that can change the future,” he said.
Sweden’s environment minister brought her baby to an EU meeting Thursday, in a barrier-breaking move she said showed it was possible to be both “a present minister and a present mother”.
Romina Pourmokhtari arrived at the ministerial talks in Luxembourg with her three-month-old son, Adam, in a sling with a pram-pushing aide in tow — becoming the latest public figure to shake up conventions around motherhood and work, AFP said.
“Happy also to be an example of not having to choose between being a present minister and a present mother,” the 30-year-old told journalists as Adam rested on her chest.
“There are many things that make Europe a wonderful place to live. One of them being just this, that we can have the possibility of attending meetings and attending to my child.”
Her French colleague Monique Barbut promptly gave her a baby gift.
An EU official said it was thought to be the first time a baby was brought to one of the bloc’s ministerial meetings.
Mothers are particularly affected by the challenge of juggling work and childcare, with studies showing women tend to miss out on promotions, career opportunities and higher earnings after having a child.
In a bid to make the lives of female lawmakers easier, the European Parliament recently changed its internal rules to allow new mothers the right to vote by proxy.
Pourmokhtari is not the first politician to highlight maternity struggles.
In 2018 former New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern won accolades for bringing her three-month-old daughter, Neve, to the United Nations General Assembly in the first such appearance by a baby in the organization’s history.
A year earlier Larissa Waters made Australian political history by becoming the first woman to nurse her newborn baby in the nation’s parliament.
Ardern is still only the second prime minister to have given birth while in office after Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto in 1990.
As Norway excels in its first World Cup appearance since 1998, false claims about what the team is eating are also grabbing attention online, The Associated Press said.
The allegations focus on the quality of American food — more specifically, that the Norwegians distrust it so much that they brought food from home to avoid eating it. Norway’s team is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the duration of the 2026 tournament, which is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.
It’s true that the team shipped certain products from Norway for the World Cup, but the reason has nothing to do with concerns about quality.
Here’s a closer look at the facts.
CLAIM: The Norwegian men’s national soccer team brought its own food to the 2026 World Cup because it doesn’t trust the quality of food in the US.
THE FACTS: This is false. The team brought some products from Norway to maintain consistency in players’ diets and provide a taste of home, according to its head chef Aron Espeland. Other ingredients have been sourced locally. Nutrition experts say that such a practice is common among elite athletes who play internationally.
“When athletes are competing at the highest level, consistency is important,” Espeland said. “The players are used to certain products and flavors, and familiar foods can contribute both to nutrition and overall well-being during a demanding competition.”
He continued: “Overall, the experience of cooking for the team in the US has been excellent. We have had access to high-quality local ingredients, and our approach has been to combine those with a selection of Norwegian products that help create continuity and a sense of home for the players during the tournament.”
Many of the claims spreading online say the team brought in 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of food from Norway for the World Cup. Espeland confirmed that the amount is actually about 580 kilograms (1,276 pounds). That consists of 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of Norwegian salmon and trout, 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of halibut, 80 kilograms (176 pounds) of Norwegian brown cheese, and 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of Jarlsberg cheese.
The team, whose support staff includes three chefs, did not bring oranges from Norway, despite social media posts claiming otherwise. Espeland said that players are served freshly squeezed orange juice every morning, made from oranges sourced locally in the US.
Plenty of other teams travel with their own chef and have taken their own food to past World Cups. For example, Argentina and Uruguay each brought thousands of pounds of meat to Qatar in 2022. The US squad traveled to Brazil in 2014 with oatmeal, Cheerios, peanut butter and A1 Steak Sauce.
Such practices are not unusual for elite athletes who compete in different countries, according to experts. The reasons include maintaining routine and consistency, reducing risk of adverse reactions, providing cultural familiarity and accommodating personal preferences.
“Interpreting this practice as a lack of trust in the host nation’s food system misunderstands the purpose of high-performance nutrition,” said Rafaela G. Feresin, an associate professor of nutrition at Georgia State University. “The goal is not to evaluate local food quality; it is to eliminate unnecessary variability during competition. Bringing a chef and familiar ingredients to a major tournament is standard, performance-driven logistics.”
Amy Goodson, a sports dietitian who has worked with professional teams including the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers, explained that bringing food to international competitions is more about “control, consistency, and performance” rather than distrust.
“Nutrition is a performance variable at the World Cup level,” she said. “These athletes train, travel, and compete with elite intensity, often multiple times in a short window, while managing weather and time zone changes. What they eat directly impacts energy availability, hydration status, recovery, immune function, and even decision-making on the field. When margins are razor thin, fueling consistency becomes critical.”