Rideau Hall

For the television series of the same name, see Rideau Hall (TV series).

Government House
Rideau Hall
Main façade of Government House
Map
General information
Architectural styleRegency, Norman Revival, Florentine Renaissance Revival
Address1 Sussex Dr.
Town or cityOttawa, Ontario
CountryCanada
Coordinates45°26′38″N 75°41′08″W / 45.443753°N 75.685641°W / 45.443753; -75.685641
Construction started1838
Cost$82,000 (1868)
ClientThomas McKay (1838), The Crown in Right of Canada (1865, 1872, 1899, 1906, 1914, 1925, 2004)
OwnerThe King in Right of Canada[citation needed]
LandlordNational Capital Commission
Technical details
Size9,500 m2 (102,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Thomas McKay, David Ewart, etc.
Other information
Number of rooms≈ 175
Designated1977

Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence of the governor general of Canada, the representative of the monarch of Canada.[1][2][3] Located in Ottawa, the capital of the country on a 36-hectare (88-acre) estate at 1 Sussex Drive. The main building consisting of approximately 175 rooms across 9,500 square metres (102,000 sq ft), and 27 outbuildings around the grounds. Rideau Hall's site lies just outside the centre of Ottawa.[4] It is one of two official vice-regal residences[5] maintained by the federal Crown, the other being the Citadelle of Quebec.

Most of Rideau Hall is used for state affairs, only 500 square metres (5,400 sq ft) of its area being dedicated to private living quarters, while additional areas serve as the offices of the Canadian Heraldic Authority[6] and the principal workplace of the governor general and their staff; either the term Rideau Hall, as a metonym, or the formal idiom Government House is employed to refer to this bureaucratic branch. Officially received at the palace are foreign heads of state, both incoming and outgoing ambassadors and high commissioners to Canada, and Canadian Crown ministers for audiences with either the viceroy or the sovereign, should the latter be in residence. Rideau Hall is likewise the location of many Canadian award presentations and investitures, where prime ministers and other members of the federal Cabinet are sworn in, and where federal writs of election are "dropped", among other ceremonial and constitutional functions.

Rideau Hall and the surrounding grounds were designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1977.[7][8] The house is open to the public for guided tours throughout the year; approximately 200,000 visitors tour Rideau Hall annually.[9] Since 1934, the Federal District Commission (now the National Capital Commission) has managed the grounds.[10][11]

  1. ^ "Rideau Hall". National Capital Commission. Government of Canada. Retrieved 27 March 2024. For more than 150 years, this heritage site has been the official residence of Canada's governors general.
  2. ^ "Federal Heritage Buildings: Rideau Hall : Complex as a whole". Parks Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved 27 March 2024. The Rideau Hall Complex contains the official residence, the landscaped grounds and the outbuildings, which together constitute the vice-regal estate of the Governor General of Canada.
  3. ^ "History of Rideau Hall". The Governor General of Canada. 20 November 2017. In 1868, the year after Confederation, the Government of Canada purchased the house and grounds for $82,000 and declared it the official residence for Canada's governors general......Rideau Hall has been the official residence of every governor general of Canada since 1867 and their workplace since 1940.
  4. ^ Aimers, John (April 1996). "The Palace on the Rideau". Monarchy Canada (Spring 1996). Toronto: Monarchist League of Canada. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  5. ^ "Rideau Hall : Complex as a whole". Federal Heritage Buildings. Parks Canada.
  6. ^ "Canadian Heraldic Authority". 6 March 2017. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  7. ^ Rideau Hall and Landscaped Grounds National Historic Site of Canada. Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. Parks Canada.
  8. ^ Rideau Hall and Landscaped Grounds National Historic Site of Canada. Canadian Register of Historic Places.
  9. ^ Office of the Governor General of Canada. "Rideau Hall". Queen's Printer for Canada. Archived from the original on 20 December 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  10. ^ Hucker, Jacqueline (4 March 2015). "Rideau Hall". The Canadian Encyclopedia (online ed.). Historica Canada. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Gestion des résidences officielles de la région de la capitale du…". Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.