HBC Flag

Tales and Treasures from the rich legacy of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Written by Beverley Tallon

 — Posted March 8, 2011
Hudson's Bay Company flag, 1920. Cotton on canvas, 100.33 x 111.76 x 1.27 cm.
Glenbow Museum / AX 151

This bright red flag is a variation of the 1682 British Royal Navy’s Red Ensign. It flew when the Hudson’s Bay Company held its 250th-anniversary parade at Lower Fort Garry, Manitoba, on May 2, 1920.

The pageant commemorated the gift of exclusive trading rights in the Hudson Bay drainage basin by Charles II in 1670. This endowment gave HBC a land base that was six times the size of Alberta.

This article originally appeared in the April-May 2011 issue of Canada’s History magazine.

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