Arthur Wentworth Roebuck, , (February 28, 1878 – November 17, 1971) was a Canadian politician and labour lawyer.

Background

Roebuck was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

in 1878 and grew up on a farm in Wellington County, near Guelph. He worked as a reporter for the ''

Toronto Daily Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands division. The newspaper was establis ...

'' and in 1905 became owner/editor of the ''Temiskaming Herald'' in New Liskeard and the ''Cobalt Citizen''. He sold them in 1915 when he left to study law, graduating from Osgoode Hall after three years. In 1918, he married Inez Perry and together they raised one daughter.

Politics

Provincial

Roebuck ran a Liberal candidate in Temiskaming in the 1911 Ontario general election and the 1914 Ontario general election but failed to get elected. He also ran in the

1917 Canadian federal election The 1917 Canadian federal election (sometimes referred to as the khaki election) was held on December 17, 1917, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 13th Parliament of Canada. Described by historian Michael Bliss as the ...

. He was involved with the

United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. History Foundation and r ...

and its successor, the Progressive Party, in the 1920s before rejoining the Liberals. He finally won a seat in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario 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 ...

in the 1934 provincial election that brought the

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; , PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, with their rival the Progressive Co ...

led by Mitchell Hepburn to power. Roebuck was a senior figure in the Hepburn government serving as

Attorney-General of Ontario The attorney general of Ontario is the Attorney general, chief legal adviser to Monarchy in Ontario, His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario. The attorney general is a senior member of the Executi ...

from 1934 to 1937 as well as Minister of Labour from 1934 until 1935. A progressive, Roebuck promoted the rights of Jews against the

anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

that was still prevalent in 1930s Ontario, and defended the rights of trade unions. He broke with Hepburn over the government's handling of the 1937

United Auto Workers The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...

strike against

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Oshawa Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...

, and resigned in protest with fellow minister David Croll. Roebuck remained as the Liberal

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

for the

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 ...

riding of Bellwoods until 1940. He attempted to return to provincial politics running for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party at its 1943

leadership convention {{Politics of Canada In Politics of Canada, Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leadership, leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader. Overview In Canada, ...

to succeed Hepburn, but finished second to Harry Nixon.

Federal

Roebuck ran for a seat in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in the 1917 federal election as a Laurier Liberal, but was defeated. Re-entering federal politics, Roebuck was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for the

riding of

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

in the 1940 federal election after successfully challenging sitting Liberal MP Hugh Plaxton for the party's nomination.

Senate

In 1945, he was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

by Prime Minister

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

, and remained in the

Upper House An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

until his death. At the outset of his appointment, he worked with the

Canadian Jewish Congress The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC; ; ; ) was, for more than ninety years, the main advocacy group for the Jewish community in Canada. Regarded by many as the "Parliament of Canadian Jewry," the Congress was at the forefront of the struggle for Hum ...

and Rabbi Avraham Aharon Price to have young, Jewish refugees released from internment camps to study in Toronto. He was an important figure in the

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

movement in Canada following the war. Following the

Igor Gouzenko Igor Sergeyevich Gouzenko (; ; January 26, 1919 – June 25, 1982) was a cipher clerk for the Soviet embassy to Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, and a lieutenant of the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). He defected on September 5, 1945, th ...

Affair, Roebuck opposed the government's suspension of the individual rights of individuals accused of espionage, and criticized the use of the Royal Commission on Espionage's transcripts in court. Later, he participated in the defence of Israel Halperin, one of the accused spies, and chaired the Senate Committee on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in 1950, advocating the creation of a Canadian Bill of Rights. Roebuck opposed

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

's Senate reform proposal in 1969.

Cabinet posts

References

External links

*
Arthur W. Roebuck fonds
, Archives of Ontario * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roebuck, Arthur 1878 births 1971 deaths Attorneys general of Ontario Canadian King's Counsel Canadian senators from Ontario Labour lawyers Lawyers in Ontario Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada