George Baker (Canadian politician)

{{Short description|Canadian politician (born 1942)}}

{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| image =

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable

| name = George Baker

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}}

| caption =

| office3 = Minister of Veterans Affairs

| primeminister3 = Jean Chrétien

| term_start3 = August 3, 1999

| term_end3 = October 17, 2000

| predecessor3 = Fred Mifflin

| successor3 = Ron Duhamel

| office4 = Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)

| primeminister4 = Jean Chrétien

| minister3 = John Manley

| term_start4 = August 3, 1999

| term_end4 = October 15, 2000

| predecessor4 = Fred Mifflin

| successor4 = Position abolished

{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Parliamentary constituencies

|titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes

| office5 = Canadian Senator
from Newfoundland and Labrador

| term_start5 = March 26, 2002

| term_end5 = September 4, 2017

| nominator5 = Jean Chrétien

| appointer5 = Adrienne Clarkson

| predecessor5 = Raymond Squires (2001)

| successor5 = Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia (2018)

| parliament9 = Canadian

| riding9 = Gander—Grand Falls
{{small|(Gander—Twillingate; 1974–1988)}}

| term_start9 = July 8, 1974

| term_end9 = March 25, 2002

| predecessor9 = John Lundrigan

| successor9 = Rex Barnes{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1942|9|4}}

| birth_place = Dominion of Newfoundland

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality =

| party = Independent Liberal (since 2014)

| otherparty = Liberal (until 2014)

| spouse =

| relations =

| children = Annelle Baker, Averill Baker, Eli Baker, Joscelyn Baker, and granddaughter Annelle.

| residence =

| alma_mater =

| occupation = Canadian Senator

| profession =

| signature =

| footnotes =

}}

George S. Baker {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} (born September 4, 1942) is a Canadian politician and former member of the Senate of Canada.

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/baker-gets-cabinet-post-1.177169|title=Baker Gets Cabinet Post|publisher=CBC News|date=August 3, 1999|access-date=February 21, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/no-big-surprises-in-cabinet-shuffle-1.177287|title=No big surprises in cabinet shuffle|publisher=CBC News|date=August 4, 1999|access-date=February 21, 2023}} 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.{{cite web| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/justin-trudeau-removes-senators-from-liberal-caucus-1.2515273| title = Justin Trudeau removes senators from Liberal caucus| publisher=CBC News| date=January 29, 2014| access-date=February 21, 2023}} 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.{{cite news|title=Trudeau's expulsion catches Liberal senators by surprise|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/trudeau-to-boot-senators-from-liberal-caucus-in-bid-to-restore-senate-independence/article16567413/|access-date=January 29, 2014|newspaper=Globe and Mail|date=January 29, 2014}}

Baker retired from the Senate upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 on September 4, 2017.{{cite web| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/george-baker-retirement-canadian-senate-politics-1.4275494| title = 'How dull life would be': George Baker leaves Senate at age 75, after decades of boldness| publisher=CBC News| date=September 5, 2017| access-date=February 21, 2023}}