William Carson McBrien (12 January 1889 – 18 June 1954) was a Canadian business owner and civic administrator. He was a long-serving chairman of the

Toronto Transportation Commission Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) was the public transit operator in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, beginning in 1921. It operated buses, streetcars and the island ferries. The system was renamed the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in 1954. H ...

and oversaw the construction of Canada's first underground rapid transit subway system in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Biography

He was born in Orangeville,

, and moved to

as a young boy. He began a hardware business at age 15 with his older brother

Fred Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Fred ...

, a future city council

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

and member of the

Ontario Legislature The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

. He served overseas with the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

in the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, rising to the rank of Major in the 12th Battalion,

Canadian Railway Troops The Corps of Canadian Railway Troops were part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during World War I. Although Canadian railway units had been arriving in France since August 1915, it was not until March 1917 that the units were placed under ...

. On his return to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, he worked in the real estate business, and became active in civic affairs. He ran in Toronto Southwest B as a Conservative in the 1919 provincial election but lost to the Liberal John Ramsden. He served on the Toronto Board of Education as member and Chairman and later was appointed to the Toronto Harbour Commission. In 1930, he was appointed as one of three members of the Toronto Transportation Commission. He was Chairman of the TTC in 1931 to 1932 and then from mid-1933 to his death. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in Canada as a Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding a reserve unit of the

Royal Canadian Engineers The Canadian Military Engineers (CME; ) is the military engineering personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces. The members of the branch that wear army uniform comprise the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE; ). The mission of the Canadia ...

. He guided the TTC through the difficult years of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and the Second World War. He strongly supported the TTC's construction of Canada's first subway, which opened three months before his death. He was chairman during the transformation of the Toronto Transportation Commission from a local transit operator to a regional operator, the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

upon the formation of the Municipality of

Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...

in 1954. The TTC headquarters building at Davisville subway station, opened in 1958, is named the McBrien Building in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McBrien, William C. 1889 births 1954 deaths Canadian military personnel from Ontario Chairs of the Toronto Transit Commission Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian Militia officers Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian military personnel of World War II Toronto District School Board trustees