Hugh Robson (politician)

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Hugh Amos Robson (September 9, 1871 – July 9, 1945) was a Manitoba politician and judge. Born in Barrow-in-Furness, England, he moved to Canada with his family in 1882, studied law in Regina, and was called to the bar for the Northwest Territories in 1892. He practiced law there and moved to Winnipeg in 1899. He married Fannie Laidlaw in 1897.

Robson became a judge in the Court of King's Bench in 1910 and led the Manitoba Public Utilities Commission from 1911 to 1914. In the early 1920s, the Liberal Party of Manitoba lost much support, and in 1927 Robson was chosen as party leader because he was seen as a respected outsider with a willingness to cooperate with the Progressives. He was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly for Winnipeg in the 1927 election, but the Liberals won only seven seats overall.

He left the Legislative Assembly in January 1930 and was appointed to the Manitoba Court of Appeal, where he served as a judge from 1930 to 1944 and later became Chief Justice of Manitoba. Robson died in Winnipeg on July 9, 1945, at age 73. Robson Hall at the University of Manitoba is named in his honor.