Hudson's Bay Closure Sparks Canada's Oldest Firm Debate

The closure of Hudson's Bay Company stores across Canada in March 2025 has sparked debate over which business now holds the title of the country's oldest company. The retailer, chartered on May 2, 1670, by King Charles II as a U.K.-headquartered fur trading enterprise, would have marked its 356th anniversary this week.

At the time of its collapse, Hudson's Bay was Toronto-based, owned by a U.S. private equity firm and burdened with 1.1 billion dollars in debt. Its stores faced criticism for outdated facilities and declining customer traffic. The company sold its trademarks, including the Hudson's Bay name, to Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. for 30 million dollars last spring. It also sold its historic royal charter for 18 million dollars to help pay debts; the document was donated by the Thomson and Weston families to four public institutions.

Historians note that pinpointing a successor is complicated by mergers, revivals, foreign ownership and incomplete records. Unlike Hudson's Bay, which maintained extensive archives spanning more than 1,500 linear meters at the Archives of Manitoba, detailing its trading posts, control over 40 percent of modern Canada and shift to department...