A 1670 royal charter, ending in a 2025 bankruptcy filing
The Hudson's Bay Company
One of the oldest companies in the world sold most of what's now Canada to Canada itself in 1869, became a Toronto department-store fixture for over a century — and stopped operating as a retailer entirely in 2025.
.jpg)
Advertisement
The Hudson's Bay Company was chartered on May 2, 1670, by England's King Charles II, making it one of the oldest continuously operating companies in the world. Its original charter granted it exclusive trading rights over Rupert's Land, a territory covering roughly 40% of present-day Canada. HBC sold most of Rupert's Land to the new Dominion of Canada in 1869 for £300,000 — a transaction that directly enabled Canadian westward expansion.
From fur trader to department store
HBC's shift from fur trader to retailer culminated with its first proper department store opening in Winnipeg in 1881. Its most architecturally significant Toronto location was the former Simpson's flagship at Yonge and Queen, opened in 1896; HBC acquired the Simpsons chain in 1978 and converted the Queen Street building into a Bay flagship in 1991. By the 20th century, HBC — alongside rival Eaton's — anchored Canadian downtown shopping for generations.
The end, 2025
Owned since 2008 by U.S.-based investors, the retail arm sought protection under Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act in March 2025 and moved to full liquidation of its remaining Hudson's Bay department stores that spring, ending 355 years of continuous operation as a retailer. Commentators point to years of underinvestment, heavy real-estate leverage, and the shift to online shopping. The HBC name, coat of arms and iconic multi-stripe blanket pattern survived the liquidation as intellectual property, separate from the failed stores.
Advertisement
Sources
- France 24 — Hudson's Bay Company: From Fur Trade to Department Store Downfall
- Ontario Heritage Trust — The Bay, Queen Street Store
Continue reading
Eaton's & Simpson's
For most of the 20th century, two department stores facing each other across Queen Street defined downtown…
Barenaked Ladies
Ed Robertson and Steven Page started busking together in Scarborough in the late 1980s, and Barenaked Ladies…
The Rivoli
The Rivoli on Queen Street West became a key incubator for Toronto comedy and music in the 1980s, hosting the…
The Family Compact
A tightly interconnected group of officials, judges and merchants known as the Family Compact controlled…