Barbara Lilian Baird, , (born October 1, 1952) also known as Barbara Baird-Filliter, was the first female leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, serving from 1989 to 1991. She led the party during a time when it held no seats at all in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

, having been shut out by

Frank McKenna Francis Joseph McKenna (born January 19, 1948) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat. He is currently Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. He served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006 ...

's historic sweep of all 58 seats in the 1987 provincial election. She was replaced by

Dennis Cochrane Dennis H. Cochrane, CM (born 26 October 1950 in Moncton, New Brunswick) is a Canadian politician and civil servant. He graduated from the New Brunswick Teacher's College in 1970, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Ne ...

before the 1991 election, and returned to her legal practice in

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

. Baird received a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

in 1974 and 1976 respectively, and a Master of Laws from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1985. She was made

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in December 2000, and was appointed to the

Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick, Family Division A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance w ...

in April 2007. In 2015, she was elevated to a Justice of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick.( see Gnb.ca. Court of Appeal) . She is married to George Filliter, a labour lawyer and mediator, and has two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baird Filliter, Barbara Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick Female Canadian political party leaders Women in New Brunswick politics Living people Canadian women judges Lawyers in New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick politicians 1952 births Canadian women lawyers Canadian King's Counsel