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
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