George S. Baker (born September 4, 1942) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician and former member of the Senate of Canada. Baker was first elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in the 1974 election as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

Gander—Twillingate Gander—Twillingate was a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1988. This riding was created in 1966 from parts of Bonavista—Twillingate and Grand ...

, in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...

. He was re-elected in every subsequent election (representing

Gander—Grand Falls Gander—Grand Falls was a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2004. This riding was created in 1987 from parts of Gander—Twillingate and Grand F ...

after 1988) until his appointment to the Senate by

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

Adrienne Clarkson Adrienne Louise Clarkson (; ; born February 10, 1939) is a Hong Kong-born Canadian journalist who served from 1999 to 2005 as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation. Clarkson arrived in Canada with her family in 19 ...

, on the recommendation of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Jean Chrétien, in 2002. Although a popular and articulate MP, he was hurt by the tradition of appointing no more than one

Canadian Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the ...

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 In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

. Tobin's resignation from the cabinet to become

Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador The premier of Newfoundland and Labrador is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Since 1949, the premier's duties and office has been the successor to the ministerial position of the pri ...

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 Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

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 The Senate Liberal Caucus (french: Caucus libéral du Sénat), also known as the Senate Liberals (french: libéraux au Sénat), was, from 2014 to 2019, a parliamentary grouping in the Senate of Canada made up of independent senators who were ind ...

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.

Bloc Newfoundland controversy

In March 2009, as a Liberal Senator for Newfoundland and Labrador, he was the first among Newfoundland's federal parliamentarians to overtly call for the foundation of a new sovereigntist party, based on the Bloc Québécois, largely in response to the $1.7 billion cuts in

equalization payments Equalization payments are cash payments made in some federal systems of government from the federal government to subnational governments with the objective of offsetting differences in available revenue or in the cost of providing services. Many fe ...

that represented no less than 20% of the province's budget, due to a change of how natural resources are factored in the calculation of equalization transfers. This prompted a rebuke from the Prime Minister's office and political commentators in Toronto and Ottawa. Some Conservative MPs demanded that

Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff (; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a histo ...

kick him out of the Liberal caucus, that he refused to do. However, this action caused little outcry in his home province.

References

External links

*
Liberal Senate Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, George 1942 births Canadian senators from Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Living people Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Members of the United Church of Canada