by Rob Ferguson for the Toronto Star

(2015) For less than the price of a fixer-upper in Toronto, you can own a stately piece of Canadian history in Scotland for 287,000 pounds — or about 594,900 loonies.

It’s the birthplace of Canada’s second prime minister, Alexander Mackenzie, who was born in 1822 and went on to be Liberal PM from 1873 to 1878.House hunters note: it’s been updated.

“The property has undergone a complete transformation in recent years whilst retaining a high degree of character and has been extensively refurbished and upgraded to suit the needs and standards of modern day living,” says the listing from real estate agents Clyde Property.

“A rare opportunity to purchase this truly charming and historic 3-bedroom, 2-public room detached home located within the quaint Perthshire village of Logierait and benefiting from generous accommodation, central heating, double glazing, a wealth of off-street parking, private garden grounds and some lovely country views.”

The listing also boasts the house has “the ideal combination of a rural feel but with easy access to excellent road and bus links and various amenities and picturesque walks along the nearby River Tay and River Tummel.”

Ever hoping for a Toronto-style bidding war, perhaps, Clyde Property says the house may hold “added interest” for Canadians celebrating the country’s 150th birthday in 2017.

It’s just the place for jaded Torontonians who fancy a walk on the misty moors, with a “welcoming vestibule with space for outdoor attire,” and can’t fight that urge to renovate.

“Planning permission has been granted for the addition of a fourth master bedroom suite.”

Other features include an “eye-catching high ceiling, wooden beams and natural light” in a lounge adjacent to the dining room. Unlike the original version of the house, there are also washrooms inside.

Mackenzie himself didn’t stay there long, moving to Canada in 1842 and settling in the Sarnia area, working with his brother as a builder and later becoming a newspaper editor before being elected in 1861, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.

A backer of Confederation, Mackenzie formed the first Liberal government in Canada after Sir John A. Macdonald’s government was defeated in the wake of the Pacific Scandal.

The encyclopedia calls Mackenzie “a hardworking man of exceptional integrity but little imagination,” but his government did set up the Supreme Court and auditor general’s office and laid the groundwork for a modern electoral system.

He died in Toronto in 1892.