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Opinion

The Historic Cottages and Getaways of Prime Ministers

The Historic Cottages and Getaways of Prime Ministers
A 1910 postcard of the Royal Muskoka Hotel on Lake Rosseau, Ont. Destroyed by fire in 1952, the hotel was a pre-eminent summer resort and attracted guests such as Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden. Public Domain
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Commentary

Fewer than one in ten Canadians own a second house or cottage, according to Statistics Canada. Most who do are well off, or have inherited a place they share with siblings. When it comes to our prime ministers, we hardly begrudge them access to an escape from the stress and strain of leadership, like every other political leader in the world. America’s president has Camp David in Maryland—and often his own place to go to, like Mar-a-Lago (Trump) or Rancho del Cielo (Reagan). The British prime minister has Chequers in the Chiltern Hills.

C.P. Champion
C.P. Champion
Author
C.P. Champion, Ph.D., is the author of two books, was a fellow of the Centre for International and Defence Policy at Queen's University in 2021, and edits The Dorchester Review magazine, which he founded in 2011.