A Canadian couple is fighting to have their home stripped of its heritage designation, saying that the original owner was racist and against immigration, according to a report.
Arnold Mahesan, a fertility specialist of Sri Lankan descent, and his wife, Roxanne Earle, whose family comes from Pakistan, said when they bought the $5 million home in an affluent neighborhood of Toronto in 2022 they didn't know that it carried the designation.
It had been built in 1906 for Stapelton Pitt Caldecott, CBC News reported.
Caldecott, a former Toronto Board of Trade president, was opposed to immigration, the outlet reported, citing a University of Toronto historian.
"Stapleton Caldecott would've been appalled by us living in the house he commissioned," Mahesan told the Toronto Preservation Board at a March 28 meeting, the outlet reported.
The couple told the board that they only found out that the 9,000 square-foot house had a heritage designation last year when they looked into modifying the steps leading to the sidewalk.
Because of the designation, they would have to get the city to approve any changes to the property.
They asked the city to repeal the designation in January, but the city said it doesn't have a policy that would prevent buildings from getting heritage status because of its connection to such individuals.
At the preservation board meeting, the couple cited a report by University of Toronto lecturer Michael Akladios that said Caldecott was anti-immigration and opposed immigrants assimilating into society.
The city told the preservation board that the home's heritage designation had nothing to do with Caldecott, but rather its unique structural qualities and design by Toronto architect Eden Smith.
The board voted to remove all references to Caldecott in the designation, but rejected the couple's request.
Mahesan said that the board's decision won't do, arguing that it amounts to "putting our thumbs over that part of history."
The couple will continue to fight the ruling, their attorney said.
"We intend to realize every opportunity we can to try to convince council to repeal the designation," Michael Campbell told the outlet.
