A Toronto school has named an atrium after the city’s first Black elected official.
This month, George Brown Polytechnic has named the atrium of its Chef School at 300 Adelaide St. E. to honour the legacy of William Peyton Hubbard, Toronto’s first Black elected official, an inventor and a pioneering civic leader, the school said in a press release.
Hubbard was the second of nine children born to Mosely and Lavenia Hubbard, who’d settled in Toronto in 1840 after being freed from enslavement in the state of Virginia, a history from the Canadian Encyclopedia states.
Mosely Hubbard strongly believed in freedom through education, so despite financial struggles, he paid for his son’s education at Toronto’s respected Model School. William Hubbard worked evenings and weekends to help cover the cost of books and other school expenses.
By 1861, William Hubbard was working as a baker, specializing in cake making, when invented the Hubbard Portable Oven, which his brothers later turned into a successful business. Hubbard also worked as a horse-drawn cab driver and, in an often-repeated story, saved newspaperman and politician George Brown, who was a passenger in a cab that crashed and was “perilously close to plunging into Toronto’s Don River.”
While the crash story is likely untrue, the encyclopedia noted, Hubbard did become Brown’s personal driver, and Brown inspired Hubbard to enter politics.
George Brown Polytechnic noted Hubbard’s start in baking and his mobile industrial oven invention that influenced commercial baking.
“Honouring William Peyton Hubbard through this atrium naming recognizes a legacy that is deeply connected to both the city of Toronto and to George Brown,” said Dr. Gervan Fearon, president, George Brown Polytechnic. “Hubbard’s story reflects values that continue to guide our institution and his early career in the culinary industry connects directly to the work, learning and innovation that takes place at the Chef School today.”
In 1894, at the age of 52, Hubbard was elected as a Toronto alderman (councillor). He was the first person of any visible minority to win a city-wide election in Toronto. He served 15 terms in office.
Hubbard advocated for public ownership of essential services and worked to advance fairness and inclusion at a time when Black civic participation faced significant barriers, the school noted. He secured public support for the Toronto Hydro-Electric System, despite an immense backlash from Toronto’s business community who wanted a private power system, according to Ontario Power Generation.
Toronto held a hydro “switch on” ceremony in 1911. Photo: Toronto Archives
“Hubbard’s impact on the city was profound, from putting the hydro-electric system in public hands to working to ensure all people were welcome in this city,” said Natalie Wood, a professor in the Social Service Worker program and Research Studio Lead for Black Futures Initiatives.
Hubbard encountered prejudice. In 1903, a councillor from Galt, Ontario, directed a racial slur at Hubbard in a Union of Canadian Municipalities debate. Four years later, Hubbard needed a character reference from the mayor to make a work trip to Washington, DC.
Hubbard died of a stroke at his Toronto home at the age of 93 in 1935.
A heritage plaque is located in front of William Peyton Hubbard’s former home at 660 Broadview Ave. in Toronto. Photo: Djuradj Vujcic
The naming of the atrium supports ongoing efforts to advance inclusion and representation of Black communities in post-secondary education, while continuing to advance George Brown’s values of Equity and Belonging as part of an inclusive Canada, the school said.
“This naming ensures that the impact and legacy of William Peyton Hubbard remain visible in spaces where students learn and imagine their futures,” said Jennifer Grant, associate vice-president, anti racism, equity and human rights. “It recognizes the contributions Black leaders have made to this city and the values we seek to uphold as an institution.
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