Hudson Bay Company in Canada: From Mercantilism to Corporatism

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Introduction
Canadian economic history is often taken as an obscure and comprehensive subject. From the time Canada was a colony of Great Britain, to the official proclamation of the confederation on July 1st 1867, Canada adopted many economic ideologies that established Canada as developed nation. Mercantilism is one of many of the earliest theories that the Canadian economic system adapted from the Great Britain.
According to Dyer, “Mercantilist system relied on trade with the colonies to supply the mother country with raw materials, where the end goal was a trade surplus and accumulate a treasury that was used to fight wars with one another.” As history progressed, Canada was shaping up to be independent state and incorporated new ideologies during the transition. Corporatism is one of many theories that Canada adopted and transitioned to fit within its framework after Mercantilism. Corporatism was a reaction against the social and political thought of capitalism and political conflict between classes. The transition from a mercantilist school of thought to corporatism paved the economic history of Canada to what it is today.
One could still see the path of this transition by assessing the path dependency of the oldest corporation in Canada. Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) was founded in the late 17th century. It was largely a fur trading operation through the idea of monopoly. HBC was founded upon the principles of Mercantilism with the guidance of British ideologies. As Canada transitioned towards an independent and self-sustaining state, companies such as HBC transitioned their company’s ideologies accordingly. This paper will focus on how HBC has fit into a mercantilist framework and how over time it has developed into a so...

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...han a mercantile operation. This is evident through the rise of competition in the market, which prompted HBC to change to a corporative framework to carry out its operations. Furthermore, decreasing demand and supply of fur was weakening HBC. Focusing on other goods, rather than fur indicated that the company was reforming from its mercantile philosophy and exploiting other markets through a corporative framework. Lastly, the mercantile management was another declining factor to HBC’s operations. Leaders like George Simpson advocated a corporate management style so that it does not contradict with current Canadian economic environment. On the whole, it was important for HBC to transition to a complex corporate framework in order to survive through the transition. This transition initially progressed Canada towards the confederation and made its own stand globally.

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