Today, it’s a department store where you might go to buy perfume or cookware. But the Hudson’s Bay Company was Canada’s first, and its most powerful, monopoly. 

It grew from a largely insignificant enterprise into one of the most dominant forces in North America.

The story of the HBC reveals just how deeply embedded monopoly is in Canada’s very fabric. 

Featured in this episode: Stephen R. Bown, Jean Teillet

To learn more

The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson’s Bay Empire by Stephen R. Bown

The North-West Is Our Mother: The Story of Louis Riel’s People, The Metis Nation by Jean Teillet

The Other Side of the Ledger: An Indian View of the Hudson's Bay Company by Martin Defalco & Willie Dunn

Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Associate Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator)

Additional music from Audio Network

Sponsors: Douglas, Oxio 

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.