Hudson’s Bay to seek court permission to auction off charter, docs say
Posted September 19, 2025 4:44 pm.
Last Updated September 19, 2025 5:05 pm.
New court documents say Hudson’s Bay wants to revert to its original plan to auction off its founding charter after more parties signalled interest in buying and then donating the 1670 document.
A court had been due to hear a motion earlier this month to sell the artifact to the Weston family, who offered $12.5 million for the charter and planned to donate it to the Canadian Museum of History.
The hearing was rescheduled after a holding company owned by David Thomson objected to the Weston sale and said the billionaire was willing to spend at least $15 million on the document he wants to donate to the Archives of Manitoba.
The new court documents don’t say how soon Hudson’s Bay will seek permission to auction off the charter.
However, they do show an independent third-party monitoring the Bay’s creditor protection is asking for court approval to separately sell the retailer’s art through online and in-person auctions in November.
The documents say 24 artifacts in the art collection believed to be of Indigenous origin will not be part of the auction and will be returned and/or donated.
