Deb riddled by the 1990s, the company reported losses of CA$2 billion ($1.4bn/£1.1bn) and Campeau was fired. The crestfallen tycoon quit Canada for Austria and his mansion languished until later that decade, when he finally sold it.

In 2002, the property was bought for CA$7.5 million ($5.4m/£4.2m) by Harold and Sara Springer. The couple enlisted a top heritage architect and leading designer to renovate the interiors. That included reviving the grand foyer in a 17th-century baroque style complementing the building's architecture.

They adorned it with mirrors dating back to the French Revolution, a marble Louis XV fireplace, Bergère chairs and Sèvres porcelain.

Demolished: a last look inside this abandoned mansion and its secret basement