Take a look back at 24 Sussex Drive, the iconic residency of the Canadian PM now abandoned and overrun with rodents

• 24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the Canadian prime minister, is in total disrepair. 
• The building has been unoccupied since 2015 and is now plagued by mold, rodents, and asbestos. 
• Historic photos show the once-imposing mansion that hosted leaders from around the world.

24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the Canadian prime minister, is in total disrepair. 

A new report from the National Capital Commission has said that the building — which has not been occupied since 2015 — is now home to swathes of mold, asbestos, lead, and the bodies of dead rodents rather than Canada's political elite.

But for 70 years, it was the iconic residency akin to The White House or 10 Downing Street, where the great and the good would gather, including John F Kennedy to Princess Diana and Mikhail Gorbachev.

—Toronto Star (@TorontoStar) January 13, 2022

Originally built by a lumber baron in 1861, the mansion at 24 Sussex Drive is a sprawling 12,000-square-foot residence with 34 rooms and an indoor swimming pool, set on a grand estate beside the Ottawa River.

But its glory days, shown in these images, are now in the past, and the state of disrepair for the once-imposing property could be terminal.

The National Capital Commission report details that the building, which was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's childhood home, has an asbestos and mold problem and rusted pipes on the edge of a "catastrophic collapse." 

It also states there is an "important rodent infestation that leaves us with excrements and carcasses between the walls and in attic and basement spaces."

Fixing these disrepair issues would cost in the region of C$36m ($26m; £21.5m).

JDM Stewart, the author of Being Prime Minister, told the BBC that "It's got to be stripped down to the studs" and has described the property as a "national embarrassment".

Further to the structural problems at the residence, 24 Sussex Drive also lacks modern amenities necessary for full-time inhabitance, including exposed windows that give little protection from freezing Ottawa winters, as well as no air conditioning for the warmer months. 

Speaking to The Globe and Mail, Leslie Maitland of Heritage Ottawa said, "It might be hard to retrofit the building for 21st-century needs." 

"There are other sites around town that could better suit the needs of a prime minister's family and the needs of a head of government," she added. 

Since taking his post as head of state, prime minister Trudeau has opted to live in Rideau Cottage, just less than a mile away from 24 Sussex Drive.