On November 8, 1918, Robertson became
Minister of Labour. He held this portfolio in 1919 during the
Winnipeg General Strike. At the beginning of the strike Robertson and Minister of Interior
Arthur Meighen went to the city to meet the "Citizens' Committee of 1000" which had been formed by local businessmen and professionals in opposition to the strike. He refused to meet the Central Strike Committee to hear their demands. Robertson ordered federal government employees to return to work or lose their jobs. On June 17, he ordered the arrest of the twelve principal strike leaders, including
J. S. Woodsworth. Robertson also supported the government's decision to send in the
Royal North-West Mounted Police to crush the strike in an action that became known as "Bloody Saturday". Robertson earned the longstanding enmity of the left and labour movement for his role in the strike. Despite his background, most of the working class did not consider him a legitimate representative of workers. Robertson retained his position as labour minister when Arthur Meighen became
Prime Minister of Canada until the government's defeat in the
1921 federal election. Robertson returned to government when
R. B. Bennett's Conservatives won the
1930 election, and again became Minister of Labour, but remained unpopular with his constituents. When visiting Winnipeg in 1932, six thousand workers met him at the railway station with the slogan: "A Faker Comes to Town." He stepped down as Labour minister in February and died in Ottawa the next year, two weeks after being paralyzed by a stroke. ==References==