The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) was Canada's oldest company, created by royal charter in 1670 when King Charles II of England backed his cousin, Prince Rupert, and a group of investors on a quest to find the North-West Passage to Asia. Their real goal was to grab a slice of the lucrative fur trade. The full name was "The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay". The original five-page vellum charter gave HBC sway over a third of what would become modern Canada—a territory four times larger than the Holy Roman Empire.
The adventurers would probably have starved or frozen to death without the fish, pemmican and shelter provided by Dene, Inuit, Cree, Chipewyan and other indigenous people. The charter empowered HBC to make laws, wage war and run commerce across a territory that would eventually stretch from Hudson's Bay to all lands "not already possessed by the subjects of any other Christian Prince or State." Possession by people living in the icy north before Christians arrived did not count.
In 1869 the company sold much of this territory, christened "Rupert's Land", to the emerging Canadian state for £300,000 ($50m in today's money). Indigenous people were neither consulted nor given a share of the proceeds. Rupert's Land became Canada's middle.
HBC's outposts expanded, selling everything from salt to dog-sled harnesses, petrol to parkas. These shops provided employment for young indigenous men across the country, known as "Bay Boys", who swept floors, pumped diesel and loaded sleds with buckshot, lard and fishing line. At the beginning of the 20th century HBC was unrivalled as Canada's prime retailer. To log-cabin outposts were added sleek department stores. In 2003 HBC enjoyed sales of C$7.3bn while employing 70,000 people.
By January 2025 the company had just C$3.3m cash in hand while owing over C$2bn. Sales had dropped to C$1.1bn. Only 9,000 employees remained when HBC was liquidated in June 2025.
In November 2025 the Ontario Superior Court handed leases for the remaining 25 stores back to their landlords. On December 11th 2025 the same court gave two of Canada's wealthiest families permission to buy the original charter for C$18m ($13m); it will be displayed at museums across the country.
HBC's iconic cream-coloured blankets, introduced in 1779 with their distinctive green, scarlet, yellow and indigo stripes, have become collectors' items. The demise of HBC has prompted a burst of nostalgia; demand for the blankets has shot up, and for those bidding on eBay they may represent a slice of Canada from a steadier time, before Donald Trump started clamouring for a 51st state.
It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life. Terry Pratchett (1948-2015)