He was born in on 15 June 1888 in the Mono Township, Dufferin County, Ontario and educated in Toronto and at Osgoode Hall.

[3] When he was 17, he opened a hardware store with his younger brother William, supplying builders in Toronto's growing outlying areas.

His brother William McBrien was the chair of the Toronto Transit Commission at the time, and was involved in a minor car accident on his way to make the funeral arrangements for Fred.

[5] Since he died in office, his funeral was attended by the province's premier Mitchell Hepburn and Toronto mayor Ralph Day.

[6] His daughter Muriel was one of the founding co-owners of the Kansas City Royals baseball team along with her husband Ewing Kauffman.