Two of Canada’s wealthiest families have teamed up to make $18M bid for Hudson’s Bay
Global News
Two Canadian families want to acquire the 1670 HBC Royal Charter and donate it to public museums, ensuring long-term preservation and national access.
Two of Canada’s wealthiest families have teamed up to make an $18-million bid for the Hudson’s Bay Company Royal Charter, with the goal of donating the historic document to four public institutions under a shared custodianship model.
According to a release, holding companies controlled by the Weston family and media executive David Thomson submitted the joint offer in a court-supervised process late Friday.
If successful, the charter, signed in 1670 and often described as the document that formed the Hudson’s Bay Company, would be donated equally to the Archives of Manitoba, the Manitoba Museum, the Canadian Museum of History and the Royal Ontario Museum.
The donation would be paired with a $5-million contribution to support conservation, public display, education and a national consultation process that would include First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities.
Manitoba would be designated as the official home of the document, and its first public exhibition after donation would be held there.
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has endorsed the proposal, saying shared custodianship that includes Indigenous voices “offers an opportunity to move beyond historical exclusion and towards a future rooted in partnership.”
The joint bid ends weeks of speculation after HBC postponed a planned court request to auction the charter in September, citing a mystery offer. Court records show the two families were behind that offer, which has since increased to $18 million.
The two families had previously submitted competing bids of $15 million and $12.5 million before joining forces.
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