Two prominent Canadian families have successfully secured the royal charter that established Hudson's Bay, ensuring its preservation in the public domain. This development concludes months of uncertainty regarding the charter's future. The charter, originally signed by King Charles II in 1670, granted Hudson's Bay a trading monopoly over the Hudson Bay drainage basin and the right to exploit mineral resources, all without the consent of the Indigenous Peoples who inhabited the area.

David Thomson, the billionaire chairman of Thomson Reuters, and Galen Weston, whose family has a significant stake in Canadian retail, expressed interest in acquiring the charter earlier this year. This interest arose after Hudson's Bay filed for creditor protection in March, burdened by $1.1 billion in debt. In mid-November, the two families announced a joint bid of $18 million, pledging to donate the charter permanently to several institutions, including the Manitoba Museum, the Canadian Museum of History, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Archives of Manitoba.

A source confirmed that no other bids were submitted for the charter, paving the way for the Thomson and Weston bid. A virtual auction is scheduled for Wednesday morning, despite the single bid, with a court hearing expected to approve the sale on December 11. The court was informed that Thomson's company proposed the charter's permanent location in Manitoba. Additionally, the bid includes a $5 million donation aimed at preserving the document and funding consultations with Indigenous communities regarding its public presentation.

Kathleen Epp, keeper of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives at the Archives of Manitoba, expressed relief that the charter would not be sold to a private buyer, which could have led to its removal from Canada. "I think the number one motivation was to have it preserved in a public institution so that it would be accessible to Canadians," Epp stated. She expressed enthusiasm about the charter being held by the four institutions, noting their collective ability to provide access and preservation.

Cody Groat, a history and Indigenous studies professor at Western University, highlighted the charter's significance as a foundational document of Canadian colonialism, stating it was based on the premise that Indigenous nations lacked legitimate claims to their territories. Groat, who is also part of the UNESCO Memory of the World advisory committee, emphasized the importance of the HBC archives, comparing them to other significant historical documents like the Magna Carta.

The public pushback from archival institutions and Indigenous communities, combined with the financial support from the Thomson and Weston families, played a crucial role in keeping the charter in the public domain. Groat noted that this situation forced Hudson's Bay to reconsider the document's value, viewing it as a matter of national interest rather than merely an asset. "In some ways, it was a necessary evil to include these wealthy families and corporations in the public donation of this item, but I think it did result in a best-case scenario overall," he remarked.

Raymond Frogner, director of archives at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, expressed support for the Thomson and Weston offer, particularly due to the $5 million donation aimed at engaging Indigenous communities. He pointed out that the charter compels Canadians to confront the historical context of Indigenous representation and the need for recognition. "It demands recognition, but it also demands a kind of reset," Frogner said, emphasizing the importance of building a society based on respect, equality, and human dignity, rather than historical models of governance that favored dominance and control.