The Decibel The multimillion-dollar fight over a piece of Canadian history
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Sep 9, 2025 In this discussion, Susan Krashinsky Robertson, a retail journalist for The Globe and Mail, delves into the Hudson's Bay Company's founding charter from 1670. This unique document has sparked a multimillion-dollar debate over ownership and historical significance. Susan explores the challenges of selling such a pivotal artifact amid creditor pressures and highlights the bids from Canada's wealthiest families. Key issues arise around cultural implications, Indigenous rights, and who truly gets to own a piece of history.
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Charter's Colonial Reach And Physical State
- The 1670 Hudson's Bay Company charter granted exclusive trading rights over vast parts of what became Canada without indigenous consent.
- The document physically shows age and alterations, symbolizing early colonial claims like terra nullius.
How The Sale Leak Emerged
- Susan Krashinsky Robertson found the sale via a confidential Hudson's Bay memo showing an art and artifacts slide with a photo of the 1670 charter.
- Publishing that memo sparked immediate public concern from historians, archivists, and Indigenous groups.
Why The Charter Entered Liquidation
- The Bay had retained the original charter in its Toronto offices while donating most other archives to public institutions decades earlier.
- That retention is why the charter got swept into the court-supervised liquidation process rather than remaining preserved in public archives.