This house was built in 1914 for Ascanio J. Major, an Ottawa grocer. It was given the name “Stornoway” by its next residents, the Perley Robertsons, after the ancestral home of the Perley family in the Outer Hebrides. Stornoway is known for its role as a refuge during the Second World War for Crown Princess Juliana of the Netherlands and her daughters, one of whom was born in Ottawa.

The house became a residence for the official leader of the opposition in 1950, after concerned citizens raised money for this purpose. For twenty years, it was maintained by donations; in 1970, it was acquired by the Government of Canada for one dollar.