A new walking tour this summer will celebrate the legacy of a man who literally changed the face of Toronto’s politics, Canada’s first elected politician who wasn’t white: William Peyton Hubbard.
Elected as a City Alderman in 1894, Hubbard served until 1914, including stints as acting mayor of Toronto. But east end resident Lanrick Bennett was embarrassed to say he’d never heard of him until the 2010s — when Hubbard’s name was put forward in a park naming contest in Riverdale.
In 2016, a park at Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street E. was officially named Hubbard Park. This summer, Bennett is organizing a historical walking tour from Hubbard’s former residence on Broadview to the park, which will be lead by fellow east ender Marie Wilson, who initiated the campaign to name the green space after him.
“As a parent, I want my kids to understand that there are people that look like them that were around, that were here, that came before,” Bennett said.
“They were fighting the good fight back then.”
The tour is part of a series of Black history walking tours that Bennett will be hosting this summer to coincide with Emancipation Day in August, called #HearThis. This week, he was awarded a $1,000 grant from the charities Toronto Foundation and Volunteer Toronto to organize the walks.
He will also be digitizing the routes so people can do them on their own time.
A portrait of W.P. Hubbard at 89 years old. He was born in 1842 and died at the age of 93 in 1935. (City of Toronto Archives)
“This entire project is about amplification,” Bennett said. “I don’t know everything about all the history within this neighborhood and within this community, but I want people to start digging.”
Park named after Hubbard in 2016
In the contest to name the park nearly a decade ago, Wilson put up flyers and approached people in the neighbourhood to tell them who Hubbard was and why they should vote for him. She learned of Hubbard from the plaque in front of his former home.
“I’m not only fascinated by history, but by forgotten history and the forgotten people in history,” she said. “I think that Hubbard fell into that category. I know that there are some people who know of him and did back then, but in a big way, I don’t think he was known.”
At the time of the park’s unveiling, Hubbard’s great-granddaughter Lorraine Hubbard said it was the first, permanent public recognition of his contributions to the city.
Marie Wilson, at left, will be leading the walk, which was organized by Lanrick Bennett, at right. (Martin Trainor/CBC)
Aside from the fact that he was the city’s first Black politician, who always stood up for the underdog, she said her favourite fact about Hubbard was that he baked himself a birthday cake every year.
Hubbard was born near Bathurst and Bloor streets, after his parents escaped enslavement in America. But he didn’t begin his political career until he was in his 50s, after working as a baker and cab driver.
He was elected in his second attempt in one of the wealthiest and whitest wards in Toronto, which spanned University Avenue to Bathurst Street. He was reelected 14 times.
Hubbard faced and fought racism
When others wanted them privatized, Hubbard helped keep Toronto’s hydroelectric and water systems public utilities, which led to the creation of Toronto Hydro. He was also part of the city’s Board of Control, a powerful four-member group at the city’s executive level that advised the mayor on municipal spending.
Wilson said he was also an instrumental player in the creation of High Park.
“He was a champion of the underdog and he just felt that the poor people, the disenfranchised, needed what we now call green space,” she said.
While breaking barriers, Heritage Toronto’s website says Hubbard defended other marginalized groups, such as the city’s Chinese and Jewish communities, from discrimination and violence.
But being a Black man at the turn of the century, he had his own experiences of racial abuse from city councillors from other cities, Heritage Toronto says. When conducting business outside the city, he was sometimes required to carry character reference letters from the mayor.
Bennett hopes that through the tour, he can provide a context of the Black history found in Toronto’s east end.
“It’s kind of cool to be living where we do and to know that history is around you and it’s literally outside of your front door,” he said.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
