William Alexander Baird

W.A. Baird
W.A. Baird
Member of Provincial Parliament
	In office; 1926–1940
Preceded by	New riding
Succeeded by	George Drew
Constituency	High Park
Personal details
Born	10 September 1867; Carlisle, Ontario in Middlesex County
Died	30 May 1940 (aged 72); Toronto, Ontario
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Annie M. Gilbert
Occupation	Lawyer

William Alexander Baird (September 10, 1867 – May 30, 1940), commonly referred to as W.A. Baird, was an Ontario lawyer and politician. He represented High Park in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Conservative from 1926 until his death in 1940.

Background

He was born in

Trinity College in 1901 and located to Toronto Junction

where he worked mostly in property law. Baird married Annie M. Gilbert in 1896, but did not have any children.

Politics

Baird soon became involved in local politics, and successfully ran for mayor of Toronto Junction in 1907, a position in which he was re-elected the following year. He was instrumental in getting the town incorporated as the City of West Toronto in 1908, and was still mayor when the town was annexed by the City of Toronto in 1909, making him the only mayor the City of West Toronto ever had.

Baird remained involved in politics, joining the

lawn bowling

club which remains active on the site. In addition, his efforts also helped establish Beresford Park, a parkette on Gilmour Avenue just north of Annette Street, as well as some tracts in the Davenport area.

Following his departure from city council, Baird remained involved in the West York Conservative Association, and was the main in-party opposition to the incumbent

MPP Forbes Godfrey, as the two disagreed on the issue of local option which enabled the ward to impose a ban on alcohol sales. In 1926, Baird was duly put up for the nomination by the Conservatives, and handily won an election as the chief opposition came not from the Liberals, but from the Prohibition Party, who advocated province-wide prohibition. Although a quiet MPP, Baird was re-elected three times before he died in 1940. He seat was subsequently filled in the 1943 election by future-premier George Drew

.

External links

Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history