The Peter Grant mansion
A 65,000-Square-Foot Mansion, Believed To Be Canada's Largest Home, Has Been Abandoned For Over 15 Years. Take A Look Inside
Who wouldn't be captivated by the thought of a sprawling mansion with a vast open floor plan, lakeside views, and striking modern architecture?
It's a homeowner's dream — as long as they don't mind the broken windows and scattered construction materials on the floor.
Once owned by the Grant Forest Products magnate Peter Grant, the Peter Grant mansion in Haileybury, Ontario, is believed to be the largest house in the country. But the 65,000-square-foot home has famously been abandoned and left to deteriorate over the years.
[The Peter Grant mansion is on the edge of Lake Temiskaming in Ontario. Freaktography/Shutterstock]
CBC reported that construction on the home began after Peter Grant, a forestry magnate who was president of Grant Forest Products Corporation, purchased the land for 110,000 Canadian dollars in 2004.
The massive home's original plans included a subterranean boathouse, a golf course, and an art gallery.
[The lakeside property is practically finished on the outside. Freaktography/Shutterstock]
The mansion, on the edge of Lake Temiskaming in Ontario, spans 65,000 square feet and sits on 43 acres of property.
Despite being abandoned, it's widely been reported as the largest residence in Canada.
[Construction on the property stopped during the financial crisis of 2008. Freaktography/Shutterstock]
Love Property reported that Grant was once the 87th wealthiest person in Canada, but amid the financial crisis, he faced mounting debts. In 2009, his company, Grant Forest Properties, filed for bankruptcy protection, CBC reported.
[The mansion sits on the edge of a lake. Freaktography/Shutterstock]
The property was finally put on the market in 2010. CBC reported that the mansion was listed for CA$25 million, despite its status as a bare-bones property and certainly not move-in ready.
The home was sold to a Toronto company.
[The mansion remained unfinished after it was sold in 2010. Freaktography/Shutterstock]
But the company that bought the home reportedly made no major attempts to finish the project.
CBC reported in 2023 that little work had been done on the property beyond installing security cameras and fencing in an effort to keep out trespassers and "urban explorers" who wished to photograph the deteriorating mansion.
[The massive home has been left abandoned, with most walls half-finished. Freaktography/Shutterstock]
Reports estimate it would cost about CA$1 million to finish construction.
Love Property reported that the estimated cost of finishing construction and making it livable was about CA$1 million.
This fireplace took up nearly an entire wall. Freaktography/Shutterstock
Details such as this large fireplace give a glimpse at how glamorous the property could have been.
"It's hard to even comprehend how much is still left behind here," Jake Williams, the founder of Bright Sun Films in Toronto, said in a video tour of the property he posted to YouTube.
"Since this building got so far in construction, many of the exterior and interior fittings were near completion," Williams said. "Utilities were even in a working state by the time of abandonment."
[There's a large amount of salvageable materials left behind in the mansion. Freaktography/Shutterstock]
The home is filled with salvageable materials that could be worth upward of CA$1 million.
The Daily Mail reported in 2021 that after Williams spoke with engineering professors and industry experts, he estimated that the materials left behind during the mansion's construction could be worth about CA$1.8 million.
To see more photos of Canada's largest abandoned mansion, head to Business Insider.
