John Robson (politician) - Journalist and Activist

Journalist and Activist

Robson spent his early life as a merchant in southern Ontario and Montreal. In 1859, upon news of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, Robson moved west to the then Colony of British Columbia from Upper Canada. Unsuccessful at prospecting, Robson helped his brother, a Methodist minister, complete construction of a church in New Westminster, the capital of the new colony. He settled there, and evidently began to become known in reformist circles as an articulate advocate of responsible government, for he was shortly hired as editor of a new newspaper, The British Columbian. His advocacy of devolution of power from the colonial governor, Sir James Douglas, to a democratically-elected assembly brought him into conflict with the august and autocratic Douglas. Douglas governed both British Columbia and the Colony of Vancouver Island from Victoria, and this absence incurred further complaint from Robson and his paper.

Robson joined forces with other colonial-era editors such as Amor De Cosmos in railing against the Governor and his officials, including Chief Justice Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie. In 1862, Begbie cited contempt of court charges against Robson during the Cottonwood Scandal for publishing an unproven allegation that the Chief Justice had accepted a bribe from land speculators. Robson served on the New Westminster town council in the 1860s before being appointed to the British Columbia Legislative Council.

By 1864, Douglas had retired and the colony finally had its own resident governor, Frederick Seymour. By now, Robson had toned down his rhetoric about responsible government as the colonial assembly began to accrue more power. He was a reluctant supporter of the colony's union with Vancouver Island in 1866, but by 1869, Robson had moved his newspaper's operations across the Strait to Victoria. It was soon bought out by the rival Daily British Colonist (today the Victoria Times-Colonist), which had been founded by De Cosmos. There Robson served as political editor for six years, and became a passionate advocate for the colony's union with Canada, formed as a confederation of four colonies of British North America on July 1, 1867. Together with De Cosmos and Robert Beaven (also future premiers), Robson founded the Confederation League which lobbied Seymour, as well as London and Ottawa, for British Columbia's entry into Confederation.

Robson's advocacy eventually paid off when British Columbia was admitted as the sixth province on July 20, 1871.