James Bryson Baird, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetJames Bryson Baird
Canadian politician
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Mississippi Mills, Ontario, Canada
About James Bryson Baird
- James Bryson Baird (March 6, 1859 – November 6, 1939) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada.
- He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1907 to 1922, and was Speaker of the Assembly from 1916 to 1922.
- Baird was a member of the Liberal Party. Baird was born in Appleton, Canada West (now Ontario), and educated at Appleton Public School.
- He later moved to Manitoba, and worked as a merchant and cattle dealer.
- He was elected as the first mayor of Pilot Mound, Manitoba, and served three successive terms without opposition.
- He was also a postmaster and president of the local Board of Trade, and served eight years as chairman of the public school board. He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in a by-election held on April 27, 1905 to replace former Liberal leader Thomas Greenway in the Mountain constituency.
- He lost to Conservative Daniel A.
- McIntyre by 146 votes. Baird ran again in the 1907 provincial election, and defeated McIntyre by 433 votes.
- Rodmond Roblin's Conservatives were returned with a majority government in this election, and Baird sat as an opposition member.
- He was re-elected by fairly comfortable margins in the elections of 1910 and 1914. In 1915, the Roblin government was forced to resign amid a corruption scandal.
- Another election was called, which the Liberals won with a landslide majority.
- Baird was selected as Speaker of the Legislature on January 6, 1916. The Liberals were reduced to a minority government in the 1920 provincial election, and Baird was re-elected over his Farmer opponent by a reduced majority.
- He received a second term as Speaker on February 10, 1921. The Liberal government was defeated in the legislature in early 1922.
- Baird lost his seat to Charles Cannon of the United Farmers of Manitoba in the 1922 provincial election.
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