First Black TTC Chair and Commissioner Frederick Langdon Hubbard.
The first black man – and probably the only one – to head the TTC almost 100 years ago is finally receiving some well-deserved recognition.
The TTC is honouring Frederick Langdon Hubbard, the first Black Canadian to be appointed Chair of the TTC Board from 1929 to 1930.
The transit company is planning to name ‘an appropriate TTC property’ after the trailblazer to mark the 100 year anniversary of the appointment, according to the TTC.
They are also working to create an annual award, the “Hubbard Award for Leadership,” to be presented to a TTC employee or employees who have demonstrated leadership and other skills.
TTC conducting streetcar track work at Queen and Bond Streets in 1917.
Hubbard worked for the Toronto Street Railway from 1906 to 1921, and served as the chair of the TTC from 1929 to 1930, the vice-chair in 1931 and a commissioner from 1932 to 1939.
He “had significant experience with the management of a transportation system, earning him the respect of his peers and the esteem of the community for his role in steering the early course of the TTC,” according to a report presented to the current Board.
TTC staff have until June 2026 to identify an internal TTC property that can me be named to honour Hubbard.
TTC streetcar tracks at Queen and River Streets in 1917.
His father-in-law, Anderson Ruffin Abbott, was the first doctor of African descent licensed to practice medicine in Ontario.
Hubbard, born in 1878, was the son of long-time Toronto alderman William Payton Hubbard and Julia Luckett.
He also managed the Scarborough Beach Amusement Park, and Hubbard Boulevard is named in his honour.
A historical plaque was installed in 2014 at his former residence of 662 Broadview Avenue.