Rideau Hall

In this remarkable book — thoughtful, intimate and stunningly illustrated with archival and original photos — three of the best writers in their fields join with Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul to tell the story of Canada’s house in the 21st century. Opening wide the doors, Canada’s House reveals how Rideau Hall has reinvented itself into a place that mirrors the varied identity, gardens and foods of the country — immensely inspiring, alive with a vitality and distinctiveness that is Canada today. Over the last five years, Rideau Hall has been transformed into a place that vitally reflects Canada’s unique contemporary identity: its kitchens are now a hive of activity using indigenous foods and wine from across the country; and its garden has been redesigned into a true Northern Garden — a showcase for Canadian flowers, plants and trees, and organic vegetables. It has become a unique home that represents Canada and Canadians from coast-to-coast. Three of our leading writers have come together to tell the story of how Rideau Hall has come to reflect so much that is both distinctive and excellent from across Canada: Margaret MacMillan, Governor-General’s Literary Award winner, contemplates the history of “home” in Canada, and the story of the great house — the hub of the country’s public life since before Confederation — through the people who have given it life. Marjorie Harris, award-winning garden writer, writes vividly on the Canadian woodland garden, the flowers and plants, as well as the organic vegetable garden that provides the fresh herbs and an impressive proportion of the fruits and vegetables for both daily life and state dinners — essential reading for all who love gardens, as well as those who aspire to creating a Canadian garden. Anne Desjardins, award-winning Quebec food writer, shows how Rideau Hall has become synonymous with contemporary Canadian cuisine, its cross-country diversity and its riches — from the shellfish and cloudberries of the Maritimes to the cheeses of Quebec; from the oolichan of the West coast to the teas and caribou of the Far North; from the wines of the Okanagan to Niagara, recognized world-wide for their excellence. With an introduction to the country’s leading food and wine producers, as well as thirty original recipes tested for home cooks by Rideau Hall’s famous Chef Oliver Bartsch. Throughout the book, Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul share their experiences in helping to bring our national house — a place that reflects Canada as diverse, bountiful, self-confident and rich in achievement — into the 21st century.

Rideau Hall, the official Residence of Canada’s Governors General, has been host to some of the greatest leaders and dignitaries in history. Members of royal families, world leaders and heads of state have stayed there and have experienced, firsthand, the warmth and hospitality so often associated with Canadians. For those chosen to serve as Governors General, as well as for their families, Rideau Hall becomes their home for five years, and sometimes longer. To the outsider, a visit to Rideau Hall as an invited guest is like watching a theatre performance, with the supporting cast and crew somewhere in the background but always where they are supposed to be. This book provides first-person narratives and real accounts of memorable moments by those who worked with quiet dignity behind the scenes, and often for the greatest part of their working lives, to make Rideau Hall a home.

The Laird of Rideau Hall explores the life and times of Thomas Mackay, the chief founder of Bytown/Ottawa. Born and raised in Perth, Scotland, Mackay and his family emigrated to Montreal in 1817. Partnering with fellow mason John Redpath, he built the locks of the first Lachine Canal, did military construction work at Fort Lennox and St. Helen’s Island, and supplied stone for Montreal’s Notre Dame Basilica. Engaged by Colonel By of the Royal Engineers to build the Ottawa and Hartwell Locks of the Rideau Canal, Mackay used his profits to found the village of New Edinburgh and build a mill complex at Rideau Falls, as well as the residence his daughter named Rideau Hall. With his hefty canal profits—paid in Spanish silver pieces of eight—Mackay was a major financier of the Ottawa and Prescott Railway, and chief promoter of Ottawa as the capital of Canada. He served as Colonel of the Russell and Carleton militias, was MLA for Russell for seven years, and a member of the Legislative Council of Canada for fifteen. After Mackay’s death in 1855, his son-in-law and estate manager Thomas Keefer sold Rideau Hall to the government to serve as a residence for Canada’s Governor General. Keefer also developed a tract of land owned by the estate into the village of Rockcliffe Park, today home to over 70 diplomatic residences. Published in English.