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The recent closing of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) flagship department store in Winnipeg was a symbolic acknowledgement of the termination of the historical influence of the HBC on the economy and geography of Canada.2 Founded by Royal Charter in 1670, the HBC had participated in the mercantile revolution that allowed European panies to a global dominance; but unlike all the other state-chartered companies, it survived several subsequent economic revolutions (industrial, financial, consumer). It continues to outlast all the other state chartered joint stock companies (e.g., East India Company, Royal African Company). After 1870, the HBC circumvented extinction by:
- accumulating surpluses through land sales; and
- channelling its merchandizing experience and capital into the modern urban department store.
Despite the loss of monopoly, the fur trade was not abandoned.3
The view of Confederation as a successful implementation of a political ideal, along with the acquisition of the Northwest, is an unbalanced nation-building narrative. Cogitation by the Fathers of Confederation cannot deserve all the credit for the creation of the nation state. In fact, the impera tive for both Confederation and western expansion can be traced back to a supportive interest of British capital. This assertion that the Imperial Center, especially "the City," promoted the development of the Canadian nation state is somewhat at odds with the conviction that a sensible compact was fashioned largely out of a spirit of compromise.4 Instead, it will be demonstrated that finance capital expedited the opening up of the Northwest.
In particular, Sir Edward Watkin played a determining role; as reiterated by E. E. Rich, he was the "motivating genius," and a key promoter of transcontinental railroad and telegraph schemes.5 He was an influential proponent of both confederation and settlement of The Fertile Belt. The idea that the tiny 1867 nation was geographically or economically feasible without a transcontinental link to the Pacific, and later, the ongoing conversion of regional natural resources to a national wealth requires attention. The map depicts the territory that was transferred to Canada in 1870 and which now accounts for 63.5 percent of our land mass. It entailed 6,276,609 square kilometres and was the largest real estate deal ever (See Figure 1).6
With its royal charter, the HBC was a legal barrier to the...