[3] His parents were refugee American slaves who had escaped their plantation in Virginia and reached Canada in 1840 via the Underground Railroad.

[3][4][5] James later left for Britain where he became an organiser of large events, and supplied taxidermy specimens of Canadian wildlife for the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition in South Kensington, London.

[3] According to what may be an apocryphal story, one winter night, he rescued another cab and its occupant, newspaper publisher George Brown, from drowning in the Don River.

[3] A reformer armed with a sharp wit and a powerful oratory skills, which earned him the nickname "Old Cicero",[4] Hubbard was known for his strong sense of public duty.

Despite being a city official, Hubbard needed to obtain a letter from Mayor Emerson Coatsworth vouching for his character when travelling to Washington, D.C. for a business meeting in 1906.

In 1896, he defended the small Chinese community against unfair taxes meant to discourage Chinese-operated hand laundries.

[10] He also presented a petition to City Council calling for an end to "attacks on the Jewish religion" by anti-Semitic street preachers.

Hubbard returned to city council in the 1913 election, this time representing Ward 1 which included the Riverdale neighbourhood.

[3] Hubbard served on the board of the Toronto House of Industry, an institution which provided relief for the poor, for four decades.

Hubbard was portrayed as a member of the Board of Control in episode 13 of season 9 ("Colour Blinded")[19] (February 8, 2016) of the Canadian television period drama Murdoch Mysteries by the actor Rothaford Gray.

Hubbard was portrayed in episode 8 of season 3 ("Ward of the Roses")[21] (November 11, 2019) of the Canadian television period drama Frankie Drake Mysteries by the actor Neville Edwards.