Hudson's Bay Company Royal Charter Unveiled at Manitoba Museum
The 1670 document granting the Hudson's Bay Company control over roughly one-third of present-day Canada went on public display June 11, 2026, after private purchase and donation to four Canadian institutions.
The Hudson's Bay Company royal charter, issued by King Charles II in 1670, was unveiled at the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg on June 11, 2026. The document granted the company control over roughly one-third of what is now Canada. The ceremony included a pipe ceremony performed by Kevin Tacan and the lighting of a traditional Inuit oil lamp.
Members of Indigenous groups attended the event. Kevin Tacan stated that the document will be an important part of teaching history to children and help ask where the country goes from here. The artifact was sold to the Weston and Thomson families for $18 million in 2025 after the collapse of the Hudson's Bay Company.
The two families donated the charter to the Manitoba Museum, the Archives of Manitoba, the Canadian Museum of History, and the Royal Ontario Museum. The four museums are expected to take turns hosting the 356-year-old document.
