Education
He attended various schools in the United States for his post graduate work.
Member of the Legislative Assembly
He attended various schools in the United States for his post graduate work.
In 1874 he located in the small village of Arkona, Ontario, where he even served a term as village reeve. Although it has been stated that Brett moved to Manitoba in 1880 he and his family were listed in the 1881 census in Arkona. In any case in the early 1880s he helped found the Manitoba Medical College and sat as a board member on the University of Manitoba.
In 1883 he moved to Banff, District of Alberta.
He worked as a physician at the Banff Sanitarium, which he founded. In 1888 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories.
He became a de facto leader of the government as chairman of the Lieutenant-Governor"s Advisory Council. Robert Brett had a rivalry with longtime member Frederick Haultain.
In 1898 Robert Brett became the first Leader of the Official Opposition during a time in which the territorial legislature made a transition to party politics.
In the 1902 election he unexpectedly dropped out of the race, a move that hurt the North-West Territories Liberal Party. When Alberta became a province in 1905 he ran in Banff for the Conservative Party but was defeated. He served as a senior surgeon in Banff at Brett Hospital.
In 1909 he became president of the Alberta Conservative Party.
During his time in the early 20th century he served on a number of boards in Alberta. He was appointed the second Lieutenant Governor of Alberta in 1915 and served in the post for one decade.
He died in Calgary, Alberta. He was buried in Banff.
Mount Brett, west of Banff, was named in his honour.