William Peyton Hubbard (January 27, 1842 – April 30, 1935), a Toronto alderman from 1894 to 1914, was a popular and influential politician, nicknamed Cicero for his oratory; he was one of the first politicians of West African descent elected to office in Canada.
Early life Hubbard was born in a cabin in what were then the outskirts of Toronto, in a rural area called "the Bush" near the intersection of what are now Bloor Street and Bathurst Street. His parents were refugee American slaves who had escaped their plantation in Virginia and reached Canada in 1840 via the Underground Railroad. Raised a devout Anglican, Hubbard was the eldest of eight children and trained as a baker at the Toronto Normal School. He invented and patented a successful commercial baker's oven, the Hubbard Portable Street Oven, which was marketed and sold by his younger brothers James Henry Hubbard and Charles Hubbard across North America. James later left for Britain where he became an organiser of large events, and supplied taxidermy specimens of Canadian wildlife for the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition in South Kensington, London. Frederick Horniman bought many of the mounts, including the overstuffed walrus now the unofficial mascot of Horniman Museum in London. James eventually set up a business in Devil's Dyke in Brighton.
By his thirties, William Peyton Hubbard had married Julia Luckett. After having worked 16 years as a baker, he joined his uncle's horse-drawn livery taxi service. According to what may be an apocryphal story, one winter night, he rescued another cab and its occupant, newspaper publisher George Brown, from drowning in the Don River. A grateful Brown hired Hubbard as his driver. Hubbard himself, however, said that he was not present at the accident but that the incident upset Brown so much that Hubbard agreed to become Brown's driver as a favour to his brother, who operated the livery service that Brown used. Regardless of which version is correct, Brown and Hubbard became friends and the publisher later encouraged Hubbard to seek public office."Historicist: Public History and William Peyton Hubbard", The Torontoist, February 14, 2009 His lifelong friend was Anderson Ruffin Abbott, Canada's first black physician.
City politics Hubbard first sought public office in 1893 at the age of 51, running in Toronto's Ward 4, where he lost by 7 votes. Encouraged, he ran again in Ward 4 in 1894 and was elected to represent the quiet, tree-lined ward of grand homes; it was one of the wealthiest and whitest wards in the city (encompassing an area between University Avenue and Bathurst Street). He was elected to city council and the Toronto Board of Control a total of 5 times in his career.
A reformer armed with a sharp wit and a powerful oratory skills, which earned him the nickname "Old Cicero", Hubbard was known for his strong sense of public duty. He made his name fighting for public ownership of Toronto's water and hydroelectric supplies.
Hubbard was appointed to the Toronto Board of Control, the city's powerful executive body, in 1898 and agitated to have the body directly elected by the people. After this reform was done, he won election to the body in its first citywide election in 1904. He thus became the first person of colour to win a citywide election in Toronto's history, and he was the only person of a visible minority to be elected to Toronto city hall until at least 2011. Hubbard topped the polls in the election to the Board in 1906; as vice-chairman of the board, he served as acting mayor on occasions when the mayor was absent. He was re-elected in 1907.
Despite being a city official, Hubbard needed to obtain a letter from Mayor Emerson Coatsworth vouching for his character when travelling to Washington, D.C. for a business meeting in 1906.
Hubbard gained passage of almost 100 initiatives in his years on council. He advocated improved waterworks and opposed its privatization, sought roads, and the authority to enact local improvement bylaws. He also fought for the creation of High Park.
He also opposed various forms of discrimination. In 1896, he defended the small Chinese community against unfair taxes meant to discourage Chinese-operated hand laundries. He also presented a petition to City Council calling for an end to "attacks on the Jewish religion" by anti-Semitic street preachers.
Hubbard joined with Sir Adam Beck to advocate a publicly owned hydroelectricity utility system in the province and led efforts to create the publicly owned Toronto Hydro-Electric System. He was opposed in this campaign by some businessmen who wanted a private system, leading to his defeat in 1908, his first loss at the polls in 24 years. He was defeated again in the 1909 and 1910 municipal elections.
He was appointed justice of the peace for York County in May 1908. Hubbard returned to city council in the 1913 election, this time representing Ward 1 which included the Riverdale neighbourhood. He retired at the end of his one-year term due to his wife's ill health.
Hubbard served on the board of the Toronto House of Industry, an institution which provided relief for the poor, for four decades.
Retirement and death Hubbard retired to the Riverdale area of the city, building a home on Broadview Avenue near Danforth Avenue. He lived there until his death from a stroke at the age of 93. Coincidentally the alderman, dubbed the Grand Old Man by Toronto press in his political days, and serving well into his 90s, was quite literally the oldest man in the city for a short period before his death. Flags at Toronto City Hall, St. Lawrence Market, and other public buildings in the city flew at half-mast to mark his death. He is buried in the Toronto Necropolis.
His son Frederick Langdon Hubbard was chairman of the Toronto Transportation Commission from 1929 to 1930 and married Grace (Abbot) Hubbard, the daughter of Anderson Ruffin Abbott.
Honours
Hubbard's portrait hangs in the office of the Mayor of Toronto. The City of Toronto's William Peyton Hubbard Award For Race Relations was established in 1989 and is awarded annually. Recipients have included Leonard Braithwaite, QC, George Elliot Clarke, Dub Poet Lillian Allen, and former Ontario cabinet minister Alvin Curling. The William Peyton Hubbard Memorial Award is a scholarship established in 2000 and funded by Hydro One which is awarded annually to multiple black students studying power industry-related disciplines at a recognized Ontario post-secondary institution. The award includes an offer of a work term or summer employment at Hydro One. A historical plaque commemorating Hubbard is located in front of his former home at 660 Broadview Avenue; it is now named Hubbard House and houses several classrooms for the Montcrest School. Hubbard Park, located at 562 Gerrard Street, at Broadview Avenue was opened in 2016 in a ceremony in front of an audience that included 16 of Hubbard's descendants. The park, located not far from Hubbard's long-time home on Broadview Avenue, was created after the closure of the Don Jail when the land in front of the restored building was landscaped as part of the expansion of Bridgepoint Health.
Cultural depictions Hubbard was portrayed as a member of the Board of Control in episode 13 of season 9 ("Colour Blinded") (February 8, 2016) of the Canadian television period drama Murdoch Mysteries by the actor Rothaford Gray. In the episode, he comes to the defence of an innocent black man, who has been racially profiled by the Toronto police. He appeared again in episode 16 of season 9 ("Bl**dy H*ll") (March 7, 2016), now as an Alderman.
Hubbard was portrayed in episode 8 of season 3 ("Ward of the Roses") (November 11, 2019) of the Canadian television period drama Frankie Drake Mysteries by the actor Neville Edwards.
Biography A biography, Against All Odds, was published in 1986 and written by his great-grandson Stephen L. Hubbard.
Electoral history Toronto Board of Control (top 4 candidates elected) The Toronto Board of Control was directly elected beginning in 1904. Previously, the body had been appointed by Toronto City Council from amongst its members. Hubbard had been appointed in 1898 and 1901. 1904 Frank S. Spence - 12,294 John F. Loudon - 11,121 William Peyton Hubbard - 8,950 Fred H. Richardson - 8,923 William Burns - 8,641 James Russell Lovett Starr - 8,639 Joseph Oliver - 8,598 John Shaw - 7,184
1905 Frank S. Spence (incumbent) - 13,032 J.J. Ward - 12,993 William Peyton Hubbard (incumbent) - 12,880 John Shaw - 12,436 J.R.L Starr - 9,823 Joseph Oliver - 8,141 Thomas Foster - 6,395 G.R. Ramsden - 5,839 Frank Moses - 5,048 A.R. Denison - 4,925 Edward Hanlan - 2,178
1906 William Peyton Hubbard (incumbent) - 14,081 S. Alfred Jones - 14,039 J.J. Ward (incumbent) - 13,770 John Shaw (incumbent) - 12,524 Hastings - 11,308
1907 J.J. Ward (incumbent) - 9,362 William Spence Harrison - 9,054 Horatio Clarence Hocken - 8,639 William Peyton Hubbard (incumbent) - 8,483 Robert Fleming - 7,077 S. Alfred Jones (incumbent) - 6,710 John Shaw (incumbent) - 6,465 John Dunn - 5,038 Davies - 1,390 Joel Marvin Briggs - 496
1908 Horatio Clarence Hocken (incumbent) - 16,844 Frank S. Spence - 11,512 William Spence Harrison (incumbent) - 10,312 J.J. Ward (incumbent) - 10,075 William Peyton Hubbard (incumbent) - 9,203 John Shaw - 6,385 Robert Fleming - 5,640 Oliver Sheppard - 5,099 John Dunn - 4,434 John Enoch Thompson - 1,291 James Lindala - 1,220 Hugh MacMath - 1,013 Robert Buist Noble - 745 James O'Hara - 367 Joel Marvin Briggs - 232
1909 George Reginald Geary - 19,027 Horatio Clarence Hocken (incumbent) - 17,380 J.J. Ward (incumbent) - 15,782 William Spence Harrison (incumbent) - 13,509 Frank S. Spence (incumbent) - 12,933 William Peyton Hubbard - 11,275 Hales - 8,171 Robert Buist Noble - 1,287 James O'Hara - 779
1910 Frank S. Spence - 13,879 J.J. Ward (incumbent) - 13,401 Tommy Church - 12,657 Thomas Foster - 10,841 William Spence Harrison (incumbent) - 9,946 William Peyton Hubbard - 9,498 Mark Bredin - 8,708 James Henry McGhie - 7,511 James Hales - 5,852 Albert Chamberlain - 2,730
Alderman 1893 Fourth Ward William Carlyle (incumbent) - 2,292 William Burns (incumbent) - 2,266 James Jolliffe (incumbent) - 1,966 George Verral (incumbent) - 1,634 Wm. P. Hubbard - 1,626 A.F. Jury - 1,316 (top 4 candidates elected)
1894 Fourth Ward William Burns (incumbent) - 2,011 Wm. P. Hubbard - 1,993 James Jolliffe (incumbent) - 1,600 James Crane - 1,458 George Verral (incumbent) - 1,381 W.G. Harris - 1,123 John McCaffrey - 1,014 M. B. Alison - 986 Alex R. Williamson - 960 John Ward - 511 John Dill - 340
1895 Fourth Ward William Burns (incumbent) - 2,217 Wm. P. Hubbard (incumbent) - 2,213 James Crane (incumbent) - 1,839 James Jolliffe (incumbent) -1,189 B. Alison - 1,084 George Verral - 979 A.F. Jury - 903 Thompson Porter - 795 Alex R. Williamson - 697 George Williams - 512 Henry Cohen - 353
1896 Fourth Ward William Burns (incumbent) - 2,356 Wm. P. Hubbard (incumbent) - 2,058 James Crane (incumbent) - 1,835 James Jolliffe (incumbent) -1,448 John McCaffrey - 1,093 John Lester - 583 Robert P. Hall - 485 Frank Sexton -283
1897 Fourth Ward Wm. P. Hubbard (incumbent) - 2,798 Wm. Burns (incumbent) - 2,621 James Crane (incumbent) - 1,777 William Carlyle - 1,543 James Jolliffe (incumbent) -1,354 H.E. Trent - 1,291 F.W. Unitt - 1,221 J.E. Verral - 941 Robert P. Hall - 536 James Langdon - 340 D.H. Watt - 89
1898 Fourth Ward Wm. Burns (incumbent) - 2,226 Wm. P. Hubbard (incumbent) - 2,161 James Crane (incumbent) - 1,888 Edward Hanlan - 1,595 H.E. Trent - 1,300 Thomas Urquhart - 1,264 William Carlyle (incumbent) - 1,093 James Jolliffe - 838 W.G McWilliams -835 Robert P. Hall - 323 George McKibbon - 279 At the first city council meeting following the election, Hubbard was one of three aldermen chosen to sit on the Toronto Board of Control
1899 Fourth Ward Wm. Burns (incumbent) - 2,870 James Crane (incumbent) - 2,818