Hugh Amos Robson (September 9, 1871July 9, 1945) was a politician and judge in
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
. He briefly served as leader of the
Manitoba Liberal Party
The Manitoba Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral du Manitoba) is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late 19th century, following the province's creation in 1870.
Origins and early development (to 1883)
Origina ...
in the 1920s.
Career
Hugh Amos Robson was born in
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
, England, on September 9, 1871. The son of Robert Robson, he came to Canada with his family in 1882, studied law in Regina, was called to the bar for the
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
in 1892 and practised in the Northwest Territories, moving to
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
in 1899. Robson married Fannie Laidlaw in 1897. He was named to the Court of King's Bench on June 23, 1910, and then served as head of the Manitoba public utilities commission from 1911 to 1914.
The Manitoba Liberals were in government between 1915 and 1922, but lost much of their support to the
United Farmers of Manitoba
The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party that developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM), an agrarian movement that became politically active following World War I.
See also
* List of political parties in Canada ...
(later called the Progressives) in the early 1920s. Despite Premier
Tobias Norris
Tobias Crawford Norris (September 5, 1861 – October 29, 1936) was a Canadian politician who served as the tenth premier of Manitoba from 1915 to 1922. Norris was a member of the Liberal Party.J. M. Bumsted"Tobias Crawford Norris" ''The Cana ...
's personal popularity, the Liberals were reduced to only eight seats in the province's 55-member legislature following the election of 1922.
Norris remained party leader until 1927, but stepped down shortly before that year's election. He was replaced by Robson, who seems to have been chosen because of his status as a "respected outsider", and because he was regarded (incorrectly) as favouring cooperation with the Progressives. He had no experience as a provincial politician, but was a leading figure in the province's legal system.
Robson was elected a member of the
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...
on June 28, 1927, during the
1927 Manitoba general election
The 1927 Manitoba general election was held on 28 June 1927 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. The result was a second consecutive victory for Manitoba farmers, following its 1922 win.
This was the ...
. He led the Liberal ticket in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
, and placed second on the city's multi-member ballot (Winnipeg elections were determined by a form of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
at the time). He was only able to elect one other Liberal in the city, however, and his party won only seven seats throughout the province. Robson left the Legislative Assembly in January 1930, becoming a judge of the Manitoba Court of Appeal that month. He served on the court until March 1944, later becoming a chief justice of Manitoba.
Robson died on July 9, 1945, at the
Winnipeg General Hospital
Winnipeg General Hospital is a hospital that was founded in 1872 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was built on the estate of Andrew McDermot. The driving force behind the hospital was McDermott's son-in-law Andrew Bannatyne
Andrew Graham Ballenden Banna ...