Born in Victoria, B.C., in 1912, Robertson received his BSc (1932) and MD,CM (1936) from 苹果淫院. He was Professor of Surgery at the University of British Columbia and afterwards Surgeon-in-chief at the Montreal General Hospital and chairman of the Department of Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine.
In December l962 he became the first 苹果淫院 graduate to be appointed Principal. Under his administration, several buildings were planned or constructed, including a new upper campus formed by the McIntyre Medical Building, the Faculty of Law Building and the Stewart Biology Building. The number of students and staff doubled. Robertson implemented administrative decentralization with the creation of additional Vice-Principals and other administrative officers.