Robert Lorne Richardson

Robert Lorne Richardson
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Lisgar
In office
1896–1902
Preceded byArthur Wellington Ross
Succeeded byDuncan Alexander Stewart
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Springfield
In office
1917–1921
Preceded byDistrict created in 1914
Succeeded byRobert Hoey
Personal details
Born(1860-06-28)June 28, 1860
Balderson, Lanark County, Upper Canada
DiedNovember 6, 1921(1921-11-06) (aged 61)
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Political partyLiberal (1896-1900)
Independent (1900-1902)
Unionist (Conservative and Liberal) (1917-1921)

Robert Lorne Richardson (June 28, 1860 – November 6, 1921) was a Canadian journalist, editor, newspaper owner, author, and politician.

Born in Balderson, Lanark County, Canada West, the son of Joseph Richardson and Harriet Thompson, Richardson was educated at the Balderson Public School and in 1879 became a journalist working for the Montreal Star and briefly for the Toronto Globe. He moved to Winnipeg in 1881 was the city editor for the Daily Sun until the paper stopped publishing in 1890. In 1890, he founded with Duncan Lloyd McIntyre the Winnipeg Daily Tribune and was its editor.

He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada as the Liberal candidate for the electoral district of Lisgar in the 1896 election. He was re-elected in the 1900 election as an independent. The election was declared void in 1901 and he was defeated in the resulting 1902 by-election. He ran unsuccessfully again in three elections held in 1904, 1908, and 1912. He was elected for Springfield in the 1917 election.

He helped found the news service, Western Associated Press, in 1907 which was a forerunner of the Canadian Press. He was also the author of two novels Colin of the ninth concession: a tale of pioneer life in eastern Ontario (Toronto, 1903) and The Camerons of Bruce (Toronto, 1906).

He died in Winnipeg in 1921.

1900 Canadian federal election: Lisgar
Party Candidate Votes
Independent Robert Lorne Richardson 3,392
Liberal Valentine Winkler 3,143

By-election: On Mr. Richardson's election being declared void, 20 July 1901

By-election on 18 February 1902
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal D.A. Stewart 3,370
Independent Liberal Robert Lorne Richardson 2,354
Conservative J.M. Toombs 1,646
1904 Canadian federal election: Lisgar
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal Thomas Greenway 1,657
Conservative William Henry Sharpe 1,477