Hudson’s Bay As A Crown Corporation – Why Not?

In the midst of what I like to call the “faux patriotism” sweeping across the country in response to President Trump’s admittedly ridiculous tariffs on Canada, Hudson’s Bay – the single most iconic Canadian business, well…ever – is almost certainly about to become nothing but a memory in the minds of Canadians, barring a miracle.

This is obviously a major blow, not just to the already slim retail market in this country, and the over 9,000 people currently employed at Hudson’s Bay who seem to be just as clueless as the rest of us about what’s happening, but also to the Canadian psyche. Canada is already a “postnational state” whose government has over the past 10 years encouraged the destruction of statues of our historic figures, and the renaming of buildings and roads to remove the memories of historical figures being judged through a modern-day lens – all overseen by a Prime Minister who constantly felt the need to apologize for the sins of people who are long dead.

Losing an institution like Hudson’s Bay is not merely another major blow to the country’s culture and identity, but more fundamentally the loss of a physical connection to Canada’s proud past – the same proud history that our federal government has long been hellbent on covering up.

But if the right ownership came along, combined with the pro-Canadian sentiment sweeping across the country (a sentiment ironically felt very strongly by the same political camps that tended to support the renaming and statue toppling mentioned above) along with the rest of the cohort of Canadians who feel a strong attachment to this country and its history, a brand like Hudson’s Bay could be very successful.

Who would own a revamped HBC? The federal government does come to mind, so long as they were to treat the HBC as a for-profit operation in the same category as the Royal Canadian Mint or Canada Post – which are also expected to turn a profit. In this situation, the HBC would absolutely have to be profitable. It would be much more difficult to defend a government-owned retail company that was losing money than it is to defend money-losing operations like Canada Post or the Mint – which are considered to be “essential” for reasons that go beyond their profit margins.

Of course, as previously mentioned, the Liberal Party of Canada in 2025 clearly does not care much for anything historically Canadian, given their constant condemnation of any historical figure who breathed the wrong way once in 1894. Hudson’s Bay is an easy target for radical leftists in the Liberal Party and in the broader Canadian population, who decry the supposed “genocide” of the Indigenous population by the HBC and the Canadian government. Because of this, I don’t suspect a Liberal government would do a very good job at resurrecting the HBC.

Regardless of these considerations, any potential buyer would need to make reforms to the HBC, because the current department store model appears to be going the way of the floppy disk – although the greed and indifference of the American private equity firm that owns Hudson’s Bay bears the lion’s share of the blame for the company’s current predicament.

In a scenario where the government does purchase the Hudson’s Bay, what I would propose is a chain of smaller – notably cheaper on rent – HBC general store-esque locations operating in both cities and national parks across Canada.

Start small with single stores in major cities, as well as the most visited national parks. Stores could carry a wide variety of items from clothing to food to souvenirs, and they could even tap into the Hudson’s Bay roots by selling hunting and trapping supplies, firearms, and fur clothing. All of this, while of course continuing to sell the historic striped point blankets that have been available since 1779 along with other striped merchandise. Why not bring back the practice of buying furs while we’re at it? This is something that the company only stopped doing in 1991.

With the exception of the point blankets – which are made in England – every single item in the store should be Canadian made, grown, hunted, or fished. Deals could be struck with Canadian companies to sell their product in stores nationally, as well as with local companies to sell their product exclusively in their local store. Some kind of incentive could be provided for larger Canadian companies to sell their product at these HBC general stores, instead of in big box stores like Walmart or Costco. The advertising and branding could draw heavily on the theme of Canadian nationalism.

I guarantee that something like this could, and would, be successful. Canadian citizens and tourists alike would shop at stores like these, and stores in national parks could particularly boost the “touristy” aspect. This idea is ultimately a last resort though, as I believe that government ownership should only be considered if a private owner absolutely cannot be found. If a private owner with deep pockets and an understanding of the Canadian market, such as a Canadian, came along and revamped the current department store model, that would be the optimal option.

But if no such private owner with a viable plan to save the department store business does come along, which seems unfortunately likely, why shouldn’t the government buy it and try to make some extra cash, while maintaining a distinctly Canadian, and very historically important, brand at the same time?

And maybe, if it were profitable, they could even cut some taxes. Ha.