Following the recent news about Canada’s oldest company Hudson’s Bay liquidating its assets and closing most of its department stores, the Archives of Manitoba, which houses the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives (HBCA), has received a number of inquiries concerning the viability of funding for the existing archival collection and concern for the future of records currently in the custody of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
In a statement, Archivist of Manitoba Scott Goodine said that the HBCA receives annual operational and staffing funding from the Hudson’s Bay Company History Foundation through its 1994 agreement between the Government of Manitoba and the HBC.
Because it is a charitable foundation and separate from the HBC, the Foundation will be able to continue supporting the HBCA regardless of the future of the company.
HBCA is the designated repository for the archival records of Hudson’s Bay Company and has worked with the company since 1994 to identify records of archival value and to receive transfers of records. Mr. Goodine said, “We are continuing to work with HBC in this regard.”
Webinar
In 2023, Janice Nickerson delivered the webinar, Hudson’s Bay Company Archives Biographical Sheets, for Legacy Family Tree Webinars about the thousands of historical employee records that are available online. She said that the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives is the largest private archives in the world. If you are a Legacy Family Tree Webinars member, you can watch this webinar for free.
Ancestry
You can also search almost 125,000 records of employees and investors in Ancestry’s collection of Canada, Hudson Bay Company Corporate and Employment Records, 1766-1926, provided you have a subscription.
