He studied medicine with Dr. Frank D. Beer and then opened a drug store in Charlottetown.
Hughes served as a member of the Charlottetown City Council and was also president of the Board of Trade.
He also helped establish the Prince Edward Island Development and Tourist Association and served as its president.
Hughes owned a farm in Brookfield where he raised horses for harness racing and cattle.
[1] One of the locations where Hughes operated as a druggist, known as DesBrisay Block or Apothecaries Hall, is now designated as a National Historic Site of Canada.