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William Peyton Hubbard
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William Peyton Hubbard
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.
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. His lifelong friend was Anderson Ruffin Abbott, Canada's first black physician.
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.
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William Peyton Hubbard
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.
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. His lifelong friend was Anderson Ruffin Abbott, Canada's first black physician.
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.
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