On July 22, Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville, announced a government investment in infrastructure on behalf of the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment. The $541,000 investment will be provided to Bellevue House National Historic Site for a new climate control system to protect the heritage building for generations to come.

Bellevue House, once the home of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, was built when it was expected that Kingston would become the capital of the United Canada. The site is styled after a picturesque Tuscan Villa and is the best-preserved example of the villa movement in Canada after being restored to the 1840s period, complete with costumed interpreters and period-accurate landscaping.

Bellevue House welcomes about 10,000 visitors each year.

“Our national historic sites make up a legacy that belongs to all Canadians. As the former home of our first Prime Minister, Bellevue House National Historic Site forms a connection between the Canada we all know and love and the man who created many of its iconic institutions,” said Gord Brown, MP for Leeds-Grenville, in a press release. “As a result of our Government’s record investment, Parks Canada will be taking bold action nationwide to ensure historic sites like Bellevue House are protected and secured for the future, while also creating and projecting jobs and opportunities.”

This investment is part of a larger project by the Government of Canada to support infrastructure in the country’s national historic sites, parks and marine conservation areas.