Two of Canada’s wealthiest families have teamed up to make an $18-million bid for the Hudson’s Bay Company Royal Charter, with the goal of donating the historic document to four public institutions under a shared custodianship model.
According to a release, holding companies controlled by the Weston family and media executive David Thomson submitted the joint offer in a court-supervised process late Friday.
If successful, the charter, signed in 1670 and often described as the document that formed the Hudson’s Bay Company, would be donated equally to the Archives of Manitoba, the Manitoba Museum, the Canadian Museum of History and the Royal Ontario Museum.
The donation would be paired with a $5-million contribution to support conservation, public display, education and a national consultation process that would include First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities.
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Manitoba would be designated as the official home of the document, and its first public exhibition after donation would be held there.
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has endorsed the proposal, saying shared custodianship that includes Indigenous voices “offers an opportunity to move beyond historical exclusion and towards a future rooted in partnership.”
The joint bid ends weeks of speculation after HBC postponed a planned court request to auction the charter in September, citing a mystery offer. Court records show the two families were behind that offer, which has since increased to $18 million.
The two families had previously submitted competing bids of $15 million and $12.5 million before joining forces.
Their proposal also has the support of the Desmarais family, Power Corporation of Canada and the Hennick Family Foundation.
HBC is expected to seek court approval for an auction on Nov. 21. If the sale proceeds, bidders must register interest by Nov. 28 and an auction would be held Dec. 3.
If the Weston-Thomson bid prevails, the four institutions plan to consult Indigenous communities, museums, academics and the public to determine how the charter should be interpreted and shared.
Leaders of all four institutions have expressed support for the plan, according to the release.
– With files from CP
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