James Robinson was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 politician.

Born in Derby, New Brunswick

Derby, New Brunswick

Derby is a community in the Canadian province of New Brunswick....

 of parents who came from Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, Robinson was educated in Derby. A merchant and lumberman, he was a manager of the South-West Miramichi Boom & Lumber Company. He was also a director of the Newcastle Miramichi Spool Factory, Limited. He was a county councillor and warden of the country. He was a Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick

The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony...

 member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...

 from January 1890 until January 1896 when he resigned to run for the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

. He was elected in a 1896 by-election for the electoral district of Northumberland when the current MP, Michael Adams

Michael Adams (politician)

Michael Adams, QC was a Canadian politician.Born in Douglastown, Parish of Newcastle, New Brunswick, of Irish descent, Adams was educated in Douglastown. He was married twice: first, in 1869, to Miss Catherine L. Patterson, and second, on November 29, 1882, to Miss Nealis...

, was summoned to the Senate of Canada. A Conservative

Conservative Party of Canada (historical)

The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...

, he was re-elected in the 1896

Canadian federal election, 1896

The Canadian federal election of 1896 was held on June 23, 1896 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Canada. Though the Conservative Party won a plurality of the popular vote, the Liberal Party, led by Wilfrid Laurier, won the majority of seats to form the...

 and 1900

Canadian federal election, 1900

The Canadian federal election of 1900 was held on November 7 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Canada. As a result of the election, the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, was re-elected to a second majority government, defeating the...

 elections. He was defeated in the 1904 election

Canadian federal election, 1904

The Canadian federal election of 1904 was held on November 3 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Canada...

.

In 1877, he married Grace Macdonald.