In 1897 he became both mayor of Moncton and a member of the provincial House of Assembly as a Liberal.

When the Liberals returned to power in 1917, Robinson became minister without portfolio 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 by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King.

Robinson was the main shareholder and, for a time, president for the Moncton Transcript.

He also helped establish a French language 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.