$13.5 million gift: Galen Weston Jr. secures 1670 Royal Charter for history museum

In a landmark philanthropic gesture, the Weston family is set to purchase the original 1670 Royal Charter of the Hudson’s Bay Company for $12.5 million and donate it to the Canadian Museum of History.

Galen Weston Jr., the third-wealthiest Canadian, is the chairman of George Weston Limited, the parent company of Loblaw Companies, with a net worth estimated to be around $18.05 billion.

He also controls Wittington Investments, the family holding company that has a controlling stake in George Weston Limited.

The Weston Family Foundation (formerly W. Garfield Weston Foundation) has a history of significant philanthropy, including grants for health, conservation, education, and cultural institutions.

In 2023, the foundation distributed over $60 million in grants, and its endowment is one of the largest among Canadian private charities

The Royal Charter, issued by King Charles II, granted Hudson’s Bay Company sweeping powers over Rupert’s Land—an enormous swath of North America that would later become central to Canadian development.

The document is widely regarded as one of the most historically significant artifacts in the country’s colonial past.

It played a foundational role in early trade, exploration, and governance in what would become Canada. It also marks a fraught chapter for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities whose lands and lives were profoundly shaped—and often disrupted—by the monopolistic control the charter granted.

With the donation, the Weston family will also provide an additional $1 million to support educational initiatives, Indigenous consultation, traveling exhibitions, and public programming designed to encourage national dialogue and historical reflection.

The Canadian Museum of History will house the charter and use it as a focal point for storytelling that includes both its imperial legacy and its impact on Indigenous peoples.

Galen Weston, representing the family’s position, emphasized the document’s deep cultural significance.

He described it as an artifact intertwined with the complex history of Canada and particularly meaningful for communities whose histories were shaped by the charter’s consequences.

Caroline Dromaguet, president and CEO of the Canadian Museum of History, praised the initiative as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to return a crucial piece of the country’s past to public stewardship.

She noted that the museum would engage Indigenous partners to help shape how the charter is interpreted and shared with future generations.

This latest gesture reflects the Weston family’s long-standing commitment to philanthropy.

Through the Weston Family Foundation, formerly known as the W. Garfield Weston Foundation, the family has supported Canadian education, healthcare, conservation, and cultural institutions for decades.

The family’s funding has shaped research in Arctic science, pandemic response, urban ecology, and heritage conservation.

Museum officials, historians, and Indigenous leaders are expected to collaborate closely to ensure that the artifact is placed in a proper historical context, thereby fostering a deeper understanding of Canada’s colonial roots and their ongoing legacy.

The Royal Charter will soon become part of Canada’s public trust—preserved and interpreted not merely as a symbol of commercial empire, but as a document that shaped the course of Canadian history in ways still deeply felt today.