Discover the Largest House in Canada and Just How Big 65,000 Square Feet Really Is 

Canada is an enormous country with beautiful lakes and picturesque towns. It also holds some impressive feats of architecture. The largest house in Canada is unfinished, but even in this state, it’s quite a stunning site to behold. Let’s take a look at this giant home and some other notable properties that Canada has to offer.

What Is the Largest House in Canada?

The largest house in Canada is known as the Peter Grant Mansion (or sometimes Haileybury House) and unfortunately, it has seen better days. The Peter Grant Mansion once belonged to a well-known Canadian businessman named Peter J. Grant.

According to lovePROPERTY, the largest house in Canada is 65,00 square feet and sits on 40 acres of land along the picturesque shores of Lake Temiskaming in Ontario. Grant planned to create a luxurious mansion in Ontario, but the millionaire’s plans went awry.

Construction on the mansion began in 2005 and halted in 2008, during a time of serious economic recession. The following year due to financial difficulties, Grant put the enormous half-completed mansion up for sale.

Layout

Although the Peter Grant Mansion is not finished, it’s interesting to imagine what might have been and perhaps how the mansion could be completed one day. The half-finished building is filled with debris, discarded furniture, and even graffiti. Yet Grant’s plans for a luxurious home are apparent.

The mansion boasts a spiral staircase that could certainly be a stunning feature once cleaned up. It also features towering ceilings and large windows offering stunning views of the lake and plenty of access to natural light.

The living room includes beautiful brick walls and a large half-completed fireplace. It’s difficult to say just how many bedrooms and bathrooms this home might have, but with 65,00 square feet, it’s safe to say Grant would have had plenty of space to entertain guests.

In fact, the enormous mansion includes two half-completed indoor swimming pools and an enormous partially finished boat dock. Grant even intended to have a large courtyard with a flowing waterfall. Though the home is far from finished, its stunning exterior architecture gives a taste of its potential.

History

The efforts of Peter J. Grant led to the production of Grant Forest Products Corporation — a family-run business with its headquarters in Ontario. At one point, this company was North America’s third-largest manufacturer of oriented strand boards.

By 2004 Grant was generating $506 million in annual sales. The following year he appeared in Canadian Business magazine’s list of the 100 richest Canadians, writes The Walrus. At the time, Grant had a net worth of $381 million.

Unfortunately, it was not to last. By 2009 the global economic recession had hit Grant hard. Grant Forest Products was forced to enter creditor protection and construction on Grant’s mansion in Ontario never resumed. Though the home is abandoned to this day, perhaps someone will come along and pick back up on Grant’s dream.

Location

The largest house in Canada is located in the city of Temiskaming Shores in northeastern Ontario. Temiskaming Shores is actually the second smallest city in Ontario, but it features picturesque surroundings.

The Peter Grant Mansion includes prime views of Lake Temiskaming, a large freshwater body of water that forms part of the Ottawa River. Lake Temiskaming also forms the provincial boundary between Ontario and Quebec.

Other Large Homes in Canada

Although the Peter Grant Mansion is the largest home in Canada, the country has other impressive homes to offer. Let’s take a look at one of Canada’s completed luxury houses.

Chelster Hall

Chelster Hall is also located in Ontario, but unlike the Peter Grant Mansion, this property is ready to be lived in. For many years Hugo Powell and his family lived in this legendary home. Powell hoped to create an estate that would stand the test of time for many years to come, according to Preferred Publishing.

Powell took inspiration from Blickling Hall in Norfolk, a small county in England where his mother had retired and he and his wife visited often. He hoped that like Blickling, Chelster Hall’s design and architecture would delight visitors even after hundreds of years.

“My dream is that 450 years from now, a young family visits as I did at Blickling Hall and says ‘Gosh, this home is 450 years old, it looks great! It only looks about 100 years old,’ and that it will have not aged a day from when it was conceived and it is being enjoyed by the community and the public in some appropriate way,” Powell told Preferred Publishing.

The 38,000-square-foot home includes a two-story library, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a sauna, a bowling alley, a wine cellar, and much more.