People, Politics, and Polemics: Inside the Judith Robinson Archive

Judith Robinson (1897-1961) was one of Canada’s most read newspaper columnists in the mid-20th century. Her career spanned three decades and two major newspapers (The Globe and Mail and The Telegram). As author of “the most polished newspaper prose in North America, with an acid fillip in every phrase,” she commented on all the key stories of her day – including Canada’s entry into the Second World War, the Munich Agreement, and the Avro Arrow cancellation – with fearless criticism of those in power. Her connections to significant figures of Canadian political philosophy also place her as an unsung collaborator on many of the ideas that shaped 20th century Canadian political thought.

Join Chris Long (McMaster University’s Archives Arrangement and Description Librarian) for a firsthand look at some of the items in Judith Robinson’s archive, which is held by McMaster’s William Ready Divisions of Archives and Research Collections. Through a close look at her work, we’ll discover why Judith Robinson was once described as “the most feared woman on Parliament Hill.”