Canada's House: Rideau Hall and the invention of a Canadian home

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.

Margaret MacMillan is the Provost of Trinity College and a professor of history. Her bestselling book Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World won the Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction among others in the UK and the US; and in Canada the 2003 Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction.

Marjorie Harris is Editor-in-Chief of Gardening Life magazine and her column appears in The Globe and Mail. A commentator on CBC radio and the author of over ten gardening books, including the bestselling Seasons of My Garden, her most recent is Botanica North America.

Anne L. Desjardins’ column appears in Quebec City’s Le Soleil. A producer of documentary series for Radio Canada, she has won a gold medal from Toronto’s Human Rights and Race Relations Centre for La Sens de la fête. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and Cuisine Canada.