George Baker (Canadian politician)
George S. Baker PC (born September 4, 1942) is a Canadian politician and former member of the Senate of Canada.
The Honourable George Baker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Minister of Veterans Affairs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office August 3, 1999 – October 17, 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Jean Chrétien | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister | John Manley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Fred Mifflin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Ron Duhamel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office August 3, 1999 – October 15, 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Jean Chrétien | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Fred Mifflin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Position abolished | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 4, 1942 Dominion of Newfoundland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Independent Liberal (since 2014) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | Liberal (until 2014) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | Annelle Baker, Averill Baker, Eli Baker, Joscelyn Baker, and granddaughter Annelle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Canadian Senator | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Baker was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1974 election as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Gander—Twillingate, in Newfoundland and Labrador. He was re-elected in every subsequent election (representing Gander—Grand Falls after 1988) until his appointment to the Senate by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, in 2002.
Although a popular and articulate MP, he was hurt by the tradition of appointing no more than one Canadian Cabinet minister from Newfoundland at a time, and by his reputation as a maverick who said what he thought rather than what the party leadership would like him to say. Fred Mifflin's and Brian Tobin's appointments to cabinet following the 1993 election meant Baker had to remain on the backbench. Tobin's resignation from the cabinet to become Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador opened the way for Baker to be appointed as Minister of Veterans Affairs. But when Prime Minister Chrétien lured Tobin back to Ottawa for the 2000 election, Baker was removed from Cabinet. He was appointed to the Senate in 2002.
On January 29, 2014, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau announced all Liberal Senators, including Baker, were removed from the Liberal caucus, and would continue sitting as Independents. According to Senate Opposition leader James Cowan, the Senators refer to themselves as the Senate Liberal Caucus even though they are no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus.
Baker retired from the Senate upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 on September 4, 2017.