In 1897 Canada's first French-speaking prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in office from 1896 to 1911, moved into the house. After his death Lady Laurier willed the house to Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, grandson of the rebel William Lyon Mackenzie. King resided here until his death in 1950, bequeathing the house to the nation, along with his estate in what is now Gatineau Park.