TORONTO — No competing bids for Hudson’s Bay’s royal charter have emerged, paving the way for the Thomson and Weston families to purchase the artifact for $18 million, a source says.
The Canadian Press is not naming the source familiar with the auction process because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The charter signed by King Charles II in 1670 is one of the oldest documents connected to Canada and even predates the country. It created Hudson’s Bay and gave the business a fur-trading monopoly along with control of one-third of modern Canada and Indigenous relations for decades to come.
It has been in need of a new home since HBC filed for creditor protection in March and began selling assets, including its leases and 4,400 pieces of art and artifacts, to make back some of the $1 billion it owed creditors.
DKRT Family Corp. and Wittington Investments Ltd. — holding companies belonging to the Thomsons and Westons, respectively — were set to jointly offer $18 million as a starting bid in an auction scheduled for Wednesday.
Anyone wanting to participate in the sale had to signal their interest to HBC’s financial advisor Reflect Advisors by last Friday.
With no one willing to square off against the families, who are among the wealthiest in the country, the bid will likely be named the successful one for the charter. If HBC deems them victorious, it will still need a court’s approval for the sale to go through.
Lawyers for both families and a spokesperson for HBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
The Thomsons and Westons have said they plan to immediately and permanently donate the charter to the Archives of Manitoba, the Manitoba Museum, the Canadian Museum of History and the Royal Ontario Museum.
While the four institutions will share the document equally, the Thomsons and Westons have said they would like the charter to go on display first in Winnipeg, where HBC was based after moving its headquarters from England. It later moved to Toronto.
The Thomsons are best known for being media barons. They are the namesake in tech conglomerate Thomson Reuters Corp. The Westons are known for their ties to Loblaw Cos. Ltd.
Both families made plays for the charter earlier this year, but more recently, decided to band together and make a joint bid.
Their promised donation of the charter will come with $5 million they offered to help fund the conservation, education and tours for the document.
The Desmarais family and Power Corp. of Canada, along with the Hennick family Foundation, have also committed additional support.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2025.
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
