Clifford William Robinson (September 1, 1866 – July 27, 1944) was a

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

lawyer, businessman and politician, the 12th

premier of New Brunswick The premier of New Brunswick ( (masculine) or (feminine)) is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The premier of a Canadian province is much like the prime minister of Canada. They are normally ...

. He was born in

Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because ...

and was educated in Point de Bute, Saint John and Moncton before attending

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

. Robinson worked as a bookkeeper from 1886 to 1889 before studying law. He was called to the bar in 1892 and set up practice in Moncton. In 1897 he became both

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Moncton and a member of the provincial

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

as a Liberal. He served as Speaker and Provincial Secretary before becoming

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

in 1907. The Liberals had been in power since 1883, however, and voters opted for a change in the 1908 election which brought the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

to power. Robinson continued in the legislature as an opposition MLA. When the Liberals returned to power in 1917, Robinson became

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

and then Minister of Lands and Mines in the governments of Walter E. Foster and Peter J. Veniot until 1924 when 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 ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

. Robinson was the main shareholder and, for a time, president for the '' Moncton Transcript''. He also helped establish a

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

newspaper ''l'Acadien''. He was president or director for a number of businesses in the Moncton area, helped found the Central Trust Company Limited and the Petitcodiac Hydro Development Company and also helped establish Moncton radio station CKCW. He died in office in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

at the age of 77.

References

Hon. C.W. Robinson
Government of New Brunswick biography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Clifford 1866 births 1944 deaths Canadian Methodists Mount Allison University alumni Lawyers in New Brunswick Businesspeople from New Brunswick Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Premiers of New Brunswick New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Mayors of Moncton 19th-century Methodists Canadian senators from New Brunswick 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick 19th-century mayors of places in New Brunswick 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada