Spanish coup of July 1936

The Spanish coup of July 1936 was a nationalist and military uprising that was designed to overthrow the Spanish Second Republic but precipitated the Spanish Civil War; Nationalists fought against Republicans for control of Spain. The coup itself was organized for 18 July 1936, although it started the previous day in Spanish Morocco, and would result in a split of the Spanish military and territorial control, rather than a prompt transfer of power. Although drawn out, the resulting war, Western neutrality, and active Axis support, would ultimately lead to a nationalist regime under Francisco Franco, becoming ruler of Spain as 'caudillo'.

The rising was intended to be swift, but the government retained control of most of the country including Málaga, Jaén and Almería. Cádiz was taken for the rebels, and General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano managed to secure Seville. In Madrid, the rebels were hemmed into the Montaña barracks, which fell with much bloodshed. On 19 July, the cabinet headed by the newly appointed prime minister José Giral ordered the distribution of weapons to the unions, helping to defeat the rebels in Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, which led to anarchists taking control of large parts of Aragon and Catalonia. The rebel General Goded surrendered in Barcelona and was later sentenced to death. The rebels had secured the support of around half of Spanish Army, which totalled, allowing for large numbers on extended leave, about 66,000 men, as well as the 30,000-strong Army of Africa. The Army of Africa was Spain's most professional and capable military force. The government retained less than half the supply of rifles, heavy and light machine guns and artillery pieces. Both sides had few tanks and only outdated aircraft, while naval capacity was reasonably even. The defection of many regular officers weakened Republican units of all types.

## Background

Following the elections in November 1933, Spain entered what was called by the left-wing parties the "black biennium" (Spanish: bienio negro). Both Carlists and Alfonsist monarchists continued to prepare and received the backing of Benito Mussolini.

José-María Gil-Robles, the leader of the right-wing Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rights (CEDA), struggled to control his party's youth wing, which copied the youth movements of Germany and Italy. Monarchists, however, turned their attention to the fascist Falange Española, led by José Antonio Primo de Rivera. Open violence occurred in the streets of Spanish cities. Gil-Robles's CEDA continued to mimic the German Nazi Party and staged a rally in March 1934. Gil-Robles successfully used an anti-strike law to provoke and to break up unions, one at a time. Efforts to remove local councils from socialist control prompted a general strike, which was brutally put down, with the arrest of four deputies and other significant breaches of Articles 55 and 56 of the constitution.

On 26 September 1934, the CEDA announced it would no longer support the centrist Radical Republican Party's minority government, which was replaced by an RRP cabinet that included three members of the CEDA. A UGT general strike in early October 1934 was quickly put down throughout most of Spain. General Francisco Franco was put in informal command of the military effort against the Asturian miners' revolt of 1934 during which striking labourers had occupied several towns and the provincial capital. Around 30,000 workers had been called to arms in ten days. Franco's men, some brought in from Spain's Army of Africa, acted horrifically by killing men, women and children and carrying out summary executions when the main cities of Asturias had been retaken. About 1,000 workers and about 250 government soldiers were killed, which marked the effective end of the republic. Months of retaliation and repression by both sides followed, and torture was used on political prisoners. Bombings, shootings and political and religious killings were frequent in the streets. Political parties created their armed militias. Gil-Robles once again prompted a cabinet collapse, and five members of Alejandro Lerroux's new government were conceded to CEDA. The military was purged of Republican members and reformed. Those loyal to Gil-Robles were promoted, and Franco was made Chief of Staff.

The 1936 general election were narrowly won by a grouping of left-wing parties, the Popular Front, which defeated the Nationalist group by less than 1% of the vote. The Nationalists began to conspire to overthrow the Republic, rather than take control of it. The government was weak, Azaña led a minority government, and reconciliation would have been an enormous task. Acts of violence and reprisals spiralled. In April, the Cortes (parliament) replaced Zamora with Azaña as president. However, Azaña was increasingly isolated from everyday politics, and his replacement, Casares Quiroga, was weak. This watershed event inspired the right to give up on parliamentary politics. CEDA turned its campaign chest over to the army plotter Emilio Mola. The monarchist José Calvo Sotelo replaced CEDA's Gil-Robles as the right-wing leader in the Cortes. Prieto did his best to avoid revolution by promoting a series of public works and civil order reforms, including parts of the military and civil guard. In response, communists quickly took over the ranks of socialist organisations, which frightened the middle classes. Several generals decided that the government had to be replaced to prevent the dissolution of Spain, and they held professional politicians in contempt.

## Preparations

The Republican government had been attempting to remove suspect generals from their posts and so Franco was relieved as chief of staff and transferred to command the Canary Islands. Goded was replaced as Inspector General and made general of the Balearic islands. Emilio Mola was moved from leading the Army of Africa to the military commander of Pamplona in Navarre, but that allowed Mola to direct the mainland uprising although the relationship between him and Carlist leaders was problematic. General José Sanjurjo became the figurehead of the operation and helped to come to an agreement with the Carlists. Mola was the chief planner and second in command. José Antonio Primo de Rivera was released from prison in mid-March to restrict the Falange. However, government actions were not as thorough as they might have been since warnings by the Director of Security and other figures were not acted upon.

On 12 June, Prime Minister Casares Quiroga met General Juan Yagüe, who was accused of masterminding the growing conspiracy in North Africa. Yagüe managed to convince Casares of his loyalty to the Republic, which was not true. Mola held a meeting between garrison commanders in northern Spain on 15 June, and local authorities, on hearing of that meeting, surrounded it with Civil Guards. However, Casares ordered their removal and said that he trusted Mola. Mola began serious planning in the spring, but Franco hesitated until early July, which inspired other plotters to refer to him as "Miss Canary Islands 1936". Franco was a key player because of his prestige as a former director of the military academy and as the man who suppressed the socialist uprising of 1934. He was well respected in the Spanish Moroccan Army, Spain's strongest military force. He wrote a cryptic letter to Casares on 23 June that suggested that the military was disloyal but could be restrained if he were put in charge. Casares did nothing and failed to arrest or to buy off Franco, even if placing him in overall command was impossible. Franco was to be assigned control of Morocco in the new regime and largely sidelined. On July 5, an aircraft was chartered to take Franco from the Canary Islands to Morocco, and it arrived on July 14.

## Murder of Calvo Sotelo

On 12 July 1936, in Madrid, a member of the Falange, Jorge Bardina, murdered Lieutenant José Castillo of the Assault Guards police force. Castillo was a member of the Socialist Party. The next day, members of the Assault Guards arrested José Calvo Sotelo, a leading Spanish monarchist and a prominent parliamentary conservative; the original target had been Gil Robles, but he could not be found. Calvo Sotelo had protested against agricultural reforms, expropriations and restrictions on the authority of the Catholic Church, which he considered to be Bolshevist and anarchist. He instead advocated the creation of a corporatist state. The Guards shot Calvo Sotelo without trial.

The killing of Calvo Sotelo, a prominent member of Parliament, and the involvement of the police aroused suspicions and strong reactions among the government's opponents on the right. Massive reprisals followed. Although the conservative Nationalist generals had already been in the advanced stages of a planned uprising, the event provided a catalyst and a convenient public justification for their coup, particularly that Spain had to be saved from anarchy by military, rather than democratic, means. The socialists and communists, led by Prieto, demanded for arms to be distributed to the people before the military took over, but the prime minister was hesitant.

Franco's plane landed in Gran Canaria on July 14, but since based in Tenerife, he could not have made the plane without the death of General Amado Balmes, the military commander in Gran Canaria, who was killed in a shooting accident on July 16. Whether his death was an accident, suicide or murder is unknown. Balmes reportedly shot himself in the stomach by accident and died shortly after. There have been conspiracy theories that he was murdered, but he would have had enough time to denounce his murderers if they had existed, and the officer who certified it was an accident was not a conspirator and remained loyal to the Republic during the Civil War.

## Beginning

The uprising's timing was fixed at 18 July, at 5 a.m. in Morocco; most garrisons in Spain were supposed to raise one day later. The rising was intended to be a swift coup d'état, but the government retained control of most of the country.

Rebel control in Spanish Morocco was all but certain. The 30,000-strong Army of Africa was the professional elite of the Spanish Army. Many of its soldiers acted as mercenaries, and the vast majority of officers backed the rebel cause. The regulares, troops recruited from the local tribes, were predominantly Muslim and so were told that the Republic wished to abolish Allah. The plan was discovered in Morocco during 17 July, which prompted it to be enacted immediately. By the scheduled time, Spanish Morocco had already been secured, as legionnaires moved into working-class areas and shot trade unionists. The army commander in eastern Morocco, General Manuel Romerales, and other senior officers loyal to the Republic were executed. Little resistance was encountered; in total, 189 people were shot by the rebels. Goded and Franco immediately took control of the islands to which they were assigned. Warned that a coup was imminent, leftists barricaded the roads on 17 July, but Franco avoided capture by taking a tugboat to the airport.

On 18 July, Casares Quiroga refused an offer of help from the CNT and UGT and proclaimed that only Spanish Morocco had joined the rebels and that the populace should trust legal methods to deal with the uprising. Handing out weapons would be illegal. The CNT and the UGT proclaimed a general strike, which was in effect a mobilisation. They opened weapons caches, some buried since the 1934 risings. The paramilitary forces were better trained than the army but often waited to see the outcome of militia action before either joining or suppressing the rebellion. Quick action by either the rebels or anarchist militias was often enough to decide the fate of a town.

## Coup in military districts

In mid-1936, Peninsular Spain was divided into eight military districts, each home to one division. Most senior staff forming the local command layer were not involved in the conspiracy. Out of eight districts commanders and commanders of respective divisions at the same time, there was only one engaged in the plot and also the only one who adhered to the coup. Out of eight district chiefs of staff, there were three officers involved in the conspiracy, though further three joined the unfolding rebellion. The conspiracy relied mostly on mid-range staff and line officers; they were expected to take control of the garrisons and either overpower their seniors or persuade them to join. In some districts, like Zaragoza or Seville, the conspiracy network was well developed, and Mola was confident of success there. In other districts, like Valencia or La Coruña, the network was sketchy, and the plotters took into account a possible failure.

### Madrid (1. Division)

The district commander general Virgilio Cabanellas Ferrer [es] was aware of the conspiracy but did not intend to join the coup. He was dismissed in the early hours of July 18 and replaced with Luis Castello Pantoja, at the time in Badajoz. Initially Miaja acted as a caretaker, but as on early morning of July 19 he was appointed the minister of war in the Martínez Barrio government, the caretaker role was taken over by Manuel Cardenal Dominicis. Castello arrived in Madrid on July 19 but discovered he had just been appointed minister of war in the new Giral government. The same day Celestino García Antúnez was nominated the new district commander; at the time the fighting was already in full swing. The divisional chief of staff, coronel Luis Pérez-Peñamaría, was supportive of the plot but did not act as its co-ordinator. The rebel scheme was managed by other Madrid-based generals, especially Rafael Villegas [es], in the plan featuring as head of the rebellious Madrid troops, and Joaquín Fanjul [es]. Miaja was probably sounded on his access, but he either declined or remained ambiguous. On July 18 Villegas cited some difficulties and remained passive; it was Fanjul who moved to the Montaña barracks and assumed the leading role. Pérez-Peñamaria pretended to be loyal. Once the troops of Fanjul had been defeated, the 1. Division was officially dissolved. Cabanellas and Pérez-Peñamaria were detained; Pérez-Peñamaria was tried for negligence and later tried also by the Nationalists. Villegas was also arrested and was soon executed by the Republican militia.

### Seville (2. Division)

The district commander, José Fernández Villa-Abrille, and his chief of staff, Juan Cantero Ortega, were loyal to the government. The conspiracy network was headed by the staff officer comandante José Cuesta Monereo, who built a firm and efficient structure, and some describe it as a "parallel staff". A few days before the coup Villa-Abrille was invited to join; he declined, but nothing is known of him taking action against the plotters. According to the plan of Mola, it was Queipo de Llano who was to assume command of the rebel Seville troops. On July 18, Cuesta organised Queipo de Llano's takeover of the garrison. Villa-Abrile was incapacitated and detained, later tried by the Nationalists and sentenced to prison. At the time of the coup, Cantero was on leave in Algeciras, where he assumed a wait-and-see attitude. He returned to Seville early August; the victorious Nationalists released him from all functions.

### Valencia (3. Division)

Neither the district commander, Fernando Martínez Monje [es], nor his chief of staff, Adolfo Machinandiarena Berga, was involved in the plot. The local conspiracy junta missed officers on critical positions. The most important of these officers was Bartolomé Barba Hernández [es], but he excelled in ensuring civilian, rather than military, support. General Manuel González Carrasco [es], who was initially marked to lead the rebels, was reassigned by Mola to lead the Barcelona rising and was reassigned back to Valencia shortly before the coup. On July 18, a few conspirators tried to persuade Martínez to join the insurgency, but the commander remained ambiguous, which was the position also adopted by Machinandiarena. Engulfed by doubts, González Carrasco remained rather passive. Many conspiring officers were ready to join the coup once orders were given by divisional command. For some two weeks, the Valencia garrison did not take a firm position. Eventually, Barba and González Carrasco fled to the Nationalist zone. Martínez was reassigned to non-combat positions, and Machinandiarena was detained and tried and later also by the Nationalists.

### Barcelona (4. Division)

The district commander, Francisco Llano de la Encomienda, was entirely loyal to the Republic. His chief of staff, Manuel Moxó Marcaida, was at least aware of the plot, but it is likely that he supported it. The key man of Mola in Barcelona was Francisco Mut Ramón, a top member of the divisional staff who was supported by some local commanders. The plan that Mola envisioned was the command of the rebellious Barcelona troops be assumed by Manuel González Carrasco, but shortly before the coup, he was reassigned to Valencia and replaced by Manuel Goded. The latter arrived in Barcelona when the rebellion was already underway; Moxó immediately accepted his command. Llano de la Encomienda actively worked to suppress the coup within the local military structures until he was detained by units loyal to Goded; his captivity lasted only a few hours. Once the military was overwhelmed by the crowd, Goded and Moxó were arrested and tried, the former executed by firing squad and the latter murdered by the militia. Mut Ramón escaped and made it to the Nationalist zone.

### Zaragoza (5. Division)

Both the district commander, Miguel Cabanellas Ferrer, and his chief of staff, Federico Montaner Canet [es], were active conspirators. The conspiracy network was firm, and Mola was confident that the Zaragoza troops would help the coup. Though the conspiracy network was not extensive, the fact that both key military men were involved in the plot led to almost all troops in the district obeying the orders of the rebellious command. A few loyalist officers were quickly overwhelmed by the rebels. Despite his age Cabanellas led the action, and Montaner supported him as the chief of staff. As had been planned, Cabanellas remained in command of the Zaragoza military district after the successful coup.

### Burgos (6. Division)

The district commander, Domingo Batet Mestres, did not take part in the conspiracy and actively tried to prevent any unrest; the interim chief of staff, José Aizpuru Martín-Pinillos ceded his post in early July 1936, he ceded the function to Fernando Moreno Calderón [es], who was not involved in the plot, but Aizpuru went on as the chief plotter. His network was so extensive that Mola, formally Batet's subordinate as commander of the Pamplona military region, was confident the 6. Division would be firmly with the rebels. On July 19, they took over critical posts of command. Batet firmly refused to join and was detained, tried and executed. Moreno joined in the last minute after he faced resolute action of junior officers. As planned by Mola, he commanded the Burgos military district after Fidel Dávila Arrondo assumed the successful coup.

### Valladolid (7. Division)

The district commander general Nicolás Molero Lobo [es] was not involved in the plot. The key person among the conspirators was the chief of staff, Anselmo López-Maristany, but in June he was posted to Madrid, and he kept co-ordinating the plot in Valladolid from the capital. His successor as chief of staff, Juan Quero Orozco, was not involved in the plot and was not aware of it unfolding. On the evening of July 18, a group of senior officers from Madrid, including Saliquet, Uzquiano, López-Maristany and Martín-Montalvo, led the takeover of the military structures, which involved a shootout with men of Molero, who was eventually detained. Later, Molero was tried by the Nationalists and sentenced to prison. Quero remained passive and eventually joined the rebels. In line with initial planning, the command of the Valladolid district was assumed by Andrés Saliquet.

### La Coruña (8. Division)

The district commander, Enrique Salcedo Molinuevo [es], was not aware of the conspiracy. The chief of staff, Luis Tovar Figueras, maintained sporadic and loose contacts with UME, but he neither took part in the conspiracy nor took any action against it. The key man of the plotters was Fermín Gutiérrez Soto, a high-ranking member of the divisional staff. On July 18 and 19, the conspiracy network remained relatively disorganised, and no resolute action had been taken. Suspicious of his staff, in the early hours of July 20, Salcedo ordered the detention of both Tovar and Gutiérrez. It was the rapid counteraction of Gutiérrez and coronel Martin Alonso that produced the detention of Salcedo, who was later tried and executed. Tovar adhered to the coup. Given the sketchy insurgency scheme in La Coruña, the plan of Mola did not envision any specific individual as local commander following the coup, a role that was temporarily assumed by Enrique Cánovas Lacruz, who had refused to take the rebel command a few times before he eventually accepted it.

## Aftermath

Despite the ruthlessness and the determination of the supporters of the coup, the rebels failed to take any major cities, with the critical exception of Seville, which provided a landing point for Franco's African troops. The primarily-conservative and Catholic areas of Old Castile and León fell quickly, and in Pamplona, the uprising was celebrated as if it were a festival. The government retained control of Málaga, Jaén and Almería. Cadiz was taken for the rebels with the help of the first troops from the Army of Africa. In Madrid, they were hemmed into the Montaña barracks. The barracks fell the next day with much bloodshed. Republican leader Santiago Casares Quiroga was replaced by José Giral, who ordered the distribution of weapons among the civilian population. This facilitated the defeat of the army insurrection in the main industrial centres, including Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and the other main cities in the Mediterranean area, but it allowed the anarchists to arm themselves and take control of Barcelona and large swathes of Aragon and Catalonia. In Barcelona, the official government lost control of security, essential services and welfare. However, the anarchists held back from demanding too much political power, which could have had even more severe consequences. General Goded surrendered in Barcelona and was later condemned to death although he had broadcast a message explaining his captivity over the radio, at the request of the authorities.

Meanwhile, the Army of Africa crossed the Gibraltar Strait, using Junkers Ju 52 transport planes provided by Nazi Germany, without any loyalist Air Force interference owing to the confusion and lack of decision of the Spanish Republican side. The massive airlift of troops from Spanish Morocco was the world's first long-range combat airlift and allowed Franco's troops to join General Queipo de Llano's forces in Seville. Their quick movement allowed them to meet General Mola's Northern Army and secure most of northern and northwestern Spain, as well as central and western Andalusia. The Republican Government ended up with controlling almost all of the Eastern Spanish coast and central area around Madrid, as well as Asturias, Cantabria and part of the Basque Country in the north. Mola was keen to create a sense of fear within Nationalist-controlled areas. There was a massive purge of Freemasons and a large part of the left, including some moderate socialists.

The result of the coup was a polarization of Spain. Following General Mola's orders of instilling fear in potential Republican ranks through systematic executions in captured cities, an act of spontaneous revenge in the form of random murders of perceived fascists, conservatives and Nationalists flared up in Loyalist areas by excited mobs.

The Nationalist area of control contained roughly 11 million of Spain's population of 25 million. The rebels also had secured the support of around half of Spain's territorial army, some 60,000 men. In Republican units, however, up to 90% of officers rebelled, defected or merely disappeared, and their loyalty to the Republic was put into doubt. Therefore, some would later turn up in Nationalist ranks, which considerably reduced the units' effectiveness, as a new command structure had to be fashioned. No such problem occurred in Nationalist units. The Army of Africa, which was entirely under Nationalist control, had 30,000 men and was considered Spain's top fighting force. The rebels were also joined by 30,000 members of Spain's militarized police forces, the Assault Guards, the Civil Guards and the Carabineers. 50,000 members of the latter stayed loyal to the government. Of 500,000 rifles, around 200,000 were retained by the government, and 65,000 were issued to the Madrid populace in the days following the uprising. Only 7,000 were usable, and 70,000 or so were lost following early Nationalist advances in the war. Republicans controlled about a third of both heavy and light machine guns; of 1,007 artillery pieces, 387 were in Republican hands. The Spanish Army had, before the coup, just 18 tanks of sufficiently modern design, and the Republicans retained 10. In terms of numbers, the Nationalists had seized control of 17 warships, leaving the Republicans with 27. However, the two most modern (both cruisers of the Canarias class) were in Nationalist hands. Although not ready for service when the war broke out, the ships compensated for the lack in numbers. The Spanish Republican Navy suffered from the same problems as the Spanish Republican Army: many officers had defected or had been killed after trying to do so. The concerns of a Republican officer that such a coup was imminent made two-thirds of the air capability to be retained by the government. However, the whole of the air service was very outdated and vulnerable during flight and to mechanical problems.

## See also

- List of Spanish Nationalist military equipment of the Spanish Civil War
- List of Spanish Republican military equipment of the Spanish Civil War

Fascist military coup against the Second Spanish Republic


John Baird (Canadian politician)

John Russell Baird PC (born May 26, 1969) is a Canadian retired politician. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2015 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He had been a member of the federal cabinet, in various positions, since 2006. Previously he was a provincial cabinet minister in Ontario during the governments of Premiers Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. Baird resigned from Harper's cabinet on February 3, 2015, and as a Member of Parliament on March 16, 2015.

A long-time resident of the former city of Nepean, where he attended Bell High School, and a graduate of Kingston's Queen's University, he was the member of the House of Commons of Canada for the riding of Ottawa West—Nepean until 2015. Baird was elected there as a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in the 2006 federal election, when his party defeated Paul Martin's Liberal Party and established a minority government. Baird was sworn in as Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, replacing Jay Hill, on August 6, 2010. Prior to this, Baird served as Transport Minister starting October 30, 2008, Environment Minister starting January 2007, and President of the Treasury Board during the Conservatives' first year in power.

Baird served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2005 for the riding of Nepean—Carleton (part of Nepean until 1999), and was a cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. He served as the Minister for Children, Community and Social Services, Energy and Francophone Affairs in addition to being the Government's Chief Whip. After the Conservatives' defeat by Dalton McGuinty's Ontario Liberal Party, he was the party's critic for key portfolios including finance, culture and health. Baird had been a member of the Conservatives since 1985, when he was the youngest delegate at that time and was also a political aide for the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in the late 1980s.

During his tenure in the Harris Cabinet he supported an attempt to sell Hydro One, the publicly owned utility firm. As the federal President of the Treasury Board in the Harper Cabinet, he moved the Federal Accountability Act, which was put in place after the Gomery Commission which investigated the federal sponsorship scandal in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As Minister of the Environment, Baird signalled the Canadian government's opposition to the Kyoto Protocol. He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and President of the Treasury Board.

## Early life and career

Baird was born in Nepean, Ontario, the son of Marianne (née Collins) and Gerald Baird. He became involved in politics when he backed a candidate for the local federal PC nomination in 1984. The next year, aged sixteen, Baird was the youngest delegate to attend the party's January 1985 provincial leadership convention, as a supporter of Ontario Attorney-General Roy McMurtry.

He was later president of the youth wing of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, and aligned himself with Dennis Timbrell during the latter's abortive campaign for the PC leadership in 1989 and 1990. He backed Mike Harris when Timbrell withdrew from the contest. Baird was charged with trespassing during the 1988 federal election, after he tried to question Ontario Premier David Peterson about free trade with the United States during a Liberal Party campaign stop in a Kingston shopping mall. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Studies from Queen's University in 1992.

Baird worked on the political staff of Perrin Beatty when Beatty was federal Minister of National Defence in the early 1990s, and followed Beatty through the subsequent cabinet shifts that culminated in his becoming Secretary of State for External Affairs in the short-lived 1993 government of Kim Campbell. After the defeat of the Progressive Conservatives in the 1993 federal election, Baird worked as a lobbyist in Ottawa.

Baird says he has been a vegetarian since 1997. However, he admits to eating fish, and he reportedly ate seal meat on a trip to the Arctic in 2009.

In June 2008, he was selected by the Ottawa Business Journal as a recipient of the "Forty Under 40" award.

## Provincial politics

### Government backbencher

While Baird had been associated with Red Tories such as McMurtry, Timbrell and Beatty, he became associated with the conservative ideology of the Mike Harris-led Ontario PC party upon entering provincial politics. He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 1995, defeating Liberal incumbent Hans Daigeler in the Ottawa-area riding of Nepean. The youngest member of the legislature, Baird was appointed parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Labour on July 13, 1995.

He became parliamentary assistant to the Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet in April 1997, and was promoted to parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Finance in November of the same year. As a backbencher, Baird proposed a bill naming Highway 416 as the "Veterans' Memorial Highway" and successfully steered its passage through the legislature. He was easily re-elected in 1999, defeating longtime Ottawa councillor Gord Hunter by a margin of almost 15,000 votes.

### Community and Social Services minister

Baird joined Premier Harris's cabinet on June 17, 1999, as Minister of Community and Social Services, where he became responsible for implementing and expanding Ontario's workfare program. As one of Harris's few bilingual ministers, he was also named as Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs.

#### 1999

Baird's first press conference as a cabinet minister was held in July 1999, and was intended to highlight the Harris government's record in reducing the provincial welfare rolls. He told reporters that 15,000 people had left the system since the introduction of workfare, and used this figure to argue that the government's policy was a success. At the time, he lacked information on the number of workfare recipients who actually found jobs, and he also did not account for 40% of the welfare recipients who had been cut from the list. A number of media reports subsequently criticized both the principle and the implementation of workfare in Ontario.

A September 1999 report from Baird's ministry showed that 10,600 workfare placements had been created in the first six months of 1999, a figure which the Toronto Star observed was significantly lower than that which had been predicted by the government. Baird indicated that he would continue with the workfare program, and that the proportion of welfare recipients on workfare would be increased from 15% to 30%.

Baird sparked criticism in late 1999 for refusing to cancel a five-year contract that had been signed between his department and the Bermuda-based private firm Andersen Consulting (later Accenture), worth up to \$180 million. The contract, signed when Janet Ecker was Community and Social Services minister, entrusted Andersen with providing technological upgrades to the province's welfare management system. The arrangement was criticized by Auditor General Erik Peters, who observed that there was nothing in the contract to prevent Andersen from increasing its hourly rates. A published report in early 2000 indicated that Andersen was charging an average of \$257 per hour for work that had previously been done by ministry staff at \$51 per hour. Another report indicated that the firm had charged a total of \$55 million to find roughly \$66 million worth of savings. In response to opposition questions, Baird said that he would not terminate the contract but would endeavour to negotiate a lower rate. Baird opposed the Harris government's plan to amalgamate the city of Ottawa with neighboring municipalities, which was approved by the legislature in 1999.

#### 2000

In January 2000, Baird unveiled a series of initiatives designed to reduce fraud and misuse in the welfare system. This was highlighted by the establishment of a welfare fraud hotline and a complementary conditionality three months later, in which anyone convicted of welfare fraud would run the risk of being given a lifetime ban from the program. The investigations Baird initiated during the fiscal year of 2000 uncovered \$58.2 million in social assistance that people were not entitled to receive, and \$16.6 million in avoided future costs, but critics of this approach, including opposition members, poverty advocates, and scholars, suggested that the Harris government was overstating the extent of fraud in order to undermine public confidence in welfare programs. In mid-year, Baird announced that workfare placements had reached departmental quotas for most of the province.

Baird revealed a \$50 million program in May 2000 to help people with developmental disabilities become integrated into their communities. He later affirmed that the province was considering closing its remaining three institutions for the mentally handicapped as part of a larger strategy focusing on home care. Baird expressed concern about the physical condition of these institutions, saying that their residents "deserve better". Later that same year, he stated that his department would spend \$26 million on shelters and other funding for the homeless.

Baird supported mandatory drug-testing for welfare recipients and argued that those who refused such tests should be at risk of having their assistance cut off. He introduced a policy initiative to this effect at a press conference in late 2000, in which he dramatically cast a box of syringes onto the floor and said that his department planned to "stop people from shooting their welfare cheque up their arm, and to help them shoot up the ladder of success". Baird acknowledged that his department did not have reliable figures on the number of welfare recipients abusing drugs, although he cited estimates of between 4% and 10%. The proposal was criticized by several people, including Ontario Human Rights Commissioner Keith Norton, a former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, who expressed concern that it could violate Ontario's human rights code, but officials including Baird justified the measures as, "necessary in order to push people still receiving assistance toward independence."

Shortly after Baird's announcement, a government website operated by the Ministry of Community and Social Services launched an attack against Liberal Party leader Dalton McGuinty for opposing the drug testing plan. The site claimed that McGuinty was "opposed to helping welfare recipients who are addicted to drugs". Baird denied that the message was partisan and initially refused to apologize. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario subsequently ruled that the site content was inappropriate and it was removed by the government, with an apology.

#### 2001–2002

In early 2001, Baird announced that his government's proposed drug-testing plan would be extended to identify welfare recipients addicted to prescription drugs and alcohol. He later announced that provincial welfare applicants would be required to pass a literacy test. The Harris government's welfare policies were put under scrutiny in August 2001 after a pregnant woman in Sudbury, Kimberly Rogers, died while serving a house arrest for welfare fraud. The woman had been confined to her apartment for three months and reports indicated that her pregnancy was "exacerbated by sweltering conditions in her apartment". Responding to criticism, Baird said that he could not comment on the specifics of the case until a coroner's inquest was completed. He defended his government's general policy on welfare issues. A subsequent inquest did not assign blame to the government for the woman's death, but recommended that lifetime bans for fraud be eliminated, and that adequate food, housing and medication be provided to anyone under house arrest.

Baird was given additional responsibilities as Minister responsible for Children on February 8, 2001. His department increased funding for child services early in the year, amid a significant increase in provincial demand. In November 2001, the provincial media obtained a confidential government report recommending 40–45% cuts in provincial child-care programs. Baird initially declined to comment on the document's contents, but rejected its proposals in early 2002.

Baird was the first cabinet minister to support Jim Flaherty's campaign to succeed Mike Harris as Progressive Conservative leader in the party's 2002 leadership election. The election was won by Flaherty's rival Ernie Eves, and early media reports suggested that Baird might be dropped from the new premier's cabinet in April 2002. He was not, but was demoted to the position of Chief Government Whip while remaining associate minister for Francophone Affairs. His replacement in Social Services was Brenda Elliott, who was from the more centrist wing of the Progressive Conservative Party.

### Energy Minister and Government House Leader

Baird was returned to a more prominent cabinet position in August 2002 after Eves separated the ministries of Environment and Energy and appointed Baird to head the latter department. Baird was given additional responsibilities as Government House Leader in June 2003 after Chris Stockwell was forced to resign following allegations that he had used government funds for a family vacation.

As Energy Minister, Baird was entrusted with implementing the government's plan to sell off part of Ontario's Hydro One. A few months later, he became unexpectedly involved in two major and interrelated policy reversals. The Energy ministry came under intense media scrutiny in late 2002 after hydro rates increased significantly in many parts of the province. Critics argued that the Progressive Conservative government's price deregulation policy (implemented before Baird became Energy Minister) was responsible. Baird suggested that the rate increases resulted from an unusually hot summer. Rates remained high through the autumn, and the Eves government was forced to re-regulate the market in November by introducing a price cap. The government continued to support deregulation in principle, but maintained the cap for the remainder of its term in office. The second and more fundamental reversal occurred in late January 2003, when Premier Eves announced that Hydro One would remain under public control.

Baird was regarded as less combative as Energy Minister than he had been in Community and Social Services. The energy policies of the Eves government were controversial, but opposition criticism was often directed at the premier rather than at Baird. Eves took a prominent interest in the Energy portfolio, and sometimes relegated Baird to a secondary role in policy announcements. In November 2002, however, he was followed around the province by "Hydrozilla", a man in a giant lizard suit sent by the Ontario New Democratic Party as a stunt to show that deregulating electricity rates would create an 'economic monster' for consumers. In early March 2003, Baird announced that the government might be forced to implement rolling blackouts as a response to energy shortages. He encouraged conservation in late summer 2003, following a province-wide blackout caused by a generator failure in the United States.

### Opposition member

The Ontario Liberal Party won a majority government in the 2003 election, although Baird was comfortably re-elected in his own seat. Between 2003 and 2005 he served as Official Opposition critic for Finance, Culture, Francophone Affairs, Intergovernmental Affairs and Health. He opposed the imposition of a health premium by Dalton McGuinty's government in 2004, charging that the Liberals broke an election pledge not the raise taxes. Baird and New Democrat Peter Kormos were vocal critics of Speaker Alvin Curling for allegedly favouring his Liberal colleagues, saying that he sanctioned Conservative and NDP members for behaviour he would allow from Liberals. At one stage, Baird described Curling's job performance as an "absolute disgrace".

Baird co-chaired Jim Flaherty's second campaign to lead the Progressive Conservative party in 2004. Flaherty was again unsuccessful, losing on the second ballot to the more centrist John Tory. Baird and Flaherty left provincial politics in 2005 to campaign for the federal House of Commons. Although Baird was generally on the right wing of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party, he expressed liberal views on some social issues. He supported same-sex marriage during the 2003 provincial election, and in 2005 helped the McGuinty government achieve quick passage of a provincial bill granting legal recognition to same-sex couples.

## Federal politics

Baird supported a Canadian Alliance candidate in the 2000 federal election, and later endorsed Stephen Harper's bid to lead the newly formed Conservative Party of Canada in its 2004 leadership election. He was appointed as the Conservative Party's Ontario co-chair for the 2004 federal election. There were rumours that Baird would leave provincial politics to contest the 2004 election, but this did not happen. In 2005 he resigned his provincial seat to campaign federally for the Conservative Party.

Baird won a contested nomination battle for Ottawa West—Nepean Conservative nomination on May 5, 2005, defeating challengers Ed Mahfouz, Margret Kopala and Ade Olumide. John Pacheco later campaigned in the election as an "Independent conservative", with the specific intent of being a spoiler against Baird. He argued that if his campaign caused Baird to lose, the Conservatives would "get the message that social conservatives are serious about their politics." Baird chose to ignore Pacheco entirely in at least one all-candidates debate.

Baird was elected, defeating Liberal candidate Lee Farnworth by about 5,000 votes. The Ottawa Citizen endorsed Baird in this campaign, and argued that his political judgment had improved considerably since his tenure as a Harris cabinet minister. In December 2006 Baird was one of thirteen Conservative MPs who voted against reopening the national debate on same-sex marriage.

Baird played an aggressive role in Question Period after his appointment to cabinet, leading MP Garth Turner to describe him as Stephen Harper's "Commons pit bull".

### President of the Treasury Board

Baird was appointed President of the Treasury Board on February 6, 2006. Following his appointment, he said that one of his priorities would be to prevent government jobs from being relocated from Ottawa to other regions for political purposes. Baird also indicated that his government was not planning to introduce job cuts or initiate a radical reduction in the size of government. In June 2006 he announced the creation of a three-member panel to advise the federal government on grant and contribution programs and accountability issues. One of the members was Frances Lankin, a former Ontario New Democratic Party cabinet minister.

#### Accountability Act

Baird introduced the Conservative government's first piece of legislation in April 2006. The Accountability Act promised significant reform to the structure of Canadian politics and government. Prime Minister Harper said that it would "put an end to the influence of money" in the Canadian government. The Accountability Act restricted the ability of former politicians and bureaucrats to become lobbyists, provided protection to whistle-blowers in the civil service and gave the Auditor General of Canada new powers of oversight. It limited individual donations to political parties and candidates to \$1,100 per year (down from \$5,200), created nine new or revised positions to oversee the activities of public officials and placed crown corporations such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation under access-to-information legislation.

Opposition MPs complained that several recommendations for access-to-information reform were omitted from the bill, and were instead sent to committee for further review. New Democratic Party MP Pat Martin suggested that this deferral could delay meaningful reform for the foreseeable future. Martin later made a deal with Baird to give the bill an easy passage through committee, in return for the Conservatives accepting some NDP amendments.

Information Commissioner John Reid criticized the new proposed powers for his department under the legislation, arguing that they would create unnecessary bureaucracy. Shortly after the Accountability Act was introduced to parliament, Reid issued an emergency report saying that the legislation would "increase the government's ability to cover up wrongdoing, shield itself from embarrassment and control the flow of information to Canadians". He added that no government had ever put forward "a more retrograde and dangerous" set of proposals for dealing with access to information laws. Baird described Reid's criticisms as "excessive", stating that most of the commissioner's specific concerns were minor in nature. Representatives of Canada's business community also expressed concern about changes to disclosure laws, arguing that their commercial secrets could be exposed to competitors.

The bill passed the House of Commons on division in June 2006. The Senate of Canada approved it in December 2006, with several amendments, and sent it back to the Commons for further consideration. The amended act was approved by the Commons without debate on December 8, and was signed into law four days later.

Shortly after the bill first passed the Commons, Baird acknowledged that the Conservatives might have unintentionally broken political financing laws by failing to report convention fees collected in 2005. He told a Senate committee that \$1.7 million was left unreported and that he did not realize it was an issue at the time. The matter is under review by the Chief Electoral Officer. The Conservatives quietly tabled an amendment to the Accountability Act in November 2006, stipulating that convention fees will not be counted as political contributions.

#### Program cuts

In May 2006, Baird was asked to find \$1 billion in cuts for 2006 and 2007. On September 25, on the same day that the government announced a \$13.2 billion surplus, Baird announced cuts to sixty-six federal programs, including Status of Women, medicinal marijuana research, Canadian museums, adult literacy, youth employment and social development and the British Columbia pine beetle program. One of the most controversial cuts was to the federal Court Challenges Program, which provided funding for Canadians to pursue rights cases in the Canadian court system. Baird argued that government funding would be redirected in a way that "reflects the priorities of working families" and that he "just [didn't] think it made sense for the government to subsidize lawyers to challenge the government's own laws in court." In justifying cuts to adult literacy programs, Baird referenced his government's support for youth literacy and said, "We've got to fix the ground level problem and not be trying to do repair work after the fact."

#### 2006 Ottawa municipal election

In early October 2006, Baird's department reviewed a promised \$200 million grant to the City of Ottawa's light-rail expansion project for the O-Train. Baird indicated that the government would keep the funding at least until the November election, but added that the Council elected in November would have the final say on the issue. He also leaked details of the city's contact with the German firm Siemens. As a result, the rail program became a focal issue in the 2006 Ottawa mayoral election and Baird's opponents accused him of trying to influence the outcome. Baird and Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli accused one another of lying about details of the project, and Liberal MP Navdeep Bains asked the Federal Ethics Commissioner to investigate Baird's decision to release details of the private contract. Chiarelli was defeated in the election and the light-rail expansion was stopped by the new council.

An Ottawa Citizen report in January 2007 revealed that federal officials had not posed any objections to the light-rail project before Baird's intervention, and suggested that his involvement was political in nature. Green Party leader Elizabeth May speculated that Ottawa may have been deprived of light-rail service because of an apparent "personal vendetta" from Baird against Chiarelli. Baird denied this charge, saying that his intervention was not political.

Opponents of the light-rail project have argued that it was undertaken without sufficient consultation with the public. In February 2008, it was reported that the House of Commons committee on government operations would be looking into his involvement over the case. MP and committee member Mark Holland voiced a concern that Baird leaked information on the contract. Baird replied that he made the right decision and dismissed the investigation saying "there is no evidence of anything". Speaking to reporters he added following the announcement of the investigation: "If you want to avert a billion-dollar boondoggle, you have to make some difficult decisions".

#### Other responsibilities

Baird held ministerial responsibilities for the Toronto Harbourfront Centre and the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation. He developed a working relationship with Toronto Mayor David Miller soon after his appointment, and was present for the announcement of a comprehensive new waterfront strategy in June 2006. Ontario cabinet minister David Caplan described Baird as a champion of waterfront renewal and Miller described him as an ally of the city. Baird spent Christmas 2006 meeting with Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.

### Environment Minister 2007–08

On January 4, 2007, Baird was appointed as Environment Minister in a cabinet shuffle, replacing Rona Ambrose. In making the appointment, Prime Minister Stephen Harper acknowledged that his government needed to do more to make the environment a priority. Some commentators remarked favourably on Baird's appointment, describing him as a strong communicator and negotiator. Columnist Andrew Coyne, however, described Baird as "the man sent to kill the issue," suggesting that Baird's appointment was meant to neutralize the environment as an election issue rather than to initiate any meaningful reforms. Baird is a vocal opponent of the Kyoto Protocol, which he argues will bring about an "economic collapse". Later in 2007, he added that any new environmental agreements must include reduction targets for major greenhouse emitters such as China, India and the United States who have not signed the Protocol or does not have any mandatory reductions set by the Protocol. Baird met with renowned Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki following his appointment. At the time Suzuki said he was encouraged by Baird's approach, but remained skeptical of the Harper government's environmental plans. However, when Baird unveiled the Conservative government's plan in April 2007, Suzuki confronted him, calling the plan "a disappointment".

#### Approach to the Kyoto Protocol

In February 2007, the Liberal opposition brought forward a non-binding motion for Canada to renew its commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. All Conservative MPs who were present in the House, including Baird, voted against the motion, which passed with the support of the three opposition parties. The following month, opposition members on a special Commons committee used their majority to bring forward sweeping changes to the government's Clean Air Act. Among other things, the revised act called for participation in international carbon markets and the fulfillment of Kyoto targets.

Baird indicated that the opposition's changes would not be included in federal targets or regulations.

In April 2007, Baird produced a federal study supported by five independent economists to support his approach to the Kyoto Protocol. Among the five economists was Toronto-Dominion Bank chief economist Don Drummond, who also wrote a private letter to Baird arguing that the "economic cost [of implementing Kyoto] would be at least as deep as the recession in the early 1980s." Opposition parliamentarians dismissed the report as a scare tactic, while Liberal Environment critic David McGuinty argued that the study was misleading, saying that it did not properly examine international emission trading and ignored jobs to be created through the "green economy". The report claimed that Canada's ability to invest in developing nations to meet emissions targets through CDM by misquoting the amount of credit to be \$85 million instead of the real approximation of \$3 billion. Soon afterward, a United Nations report also contradicted the study mentioning that "steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions can be accomplished at a cost of only 0.12 per cent of the world's annual economic output" but Baird responded that Canada's gas emission levels would peak in 2012, three years before the UN's set target of 2015.

#### Environmental strategy

Baird was the Harper government's representative at the release of a major United Nations report on climate change in Paris in February 2007. He described the report as a "turning point in the battle against climate change," while indicating his surprise that human activity was found to be a major cause of the phenomenon.

Baird released his government's targets for greenhouse gas emissions in late April 2007. The plan calls for Canada to begin cutting its existing rate of greenhouse gas emissions by 2010 and for cuts to reach 20% by 2020. Under this plan, Canada will reach its Kyoto targets between 2020 and 2025, taking an additional eight to thirteen years longer than Kyoto. The government plan uses production intensity targets instead of hard caps. Baird said that the "plan strikes a balance between the perfection some environmentalists may be seeking and the status quo that some in industry seek to protect." In December 2007, Baird revealed in a plan that over 700 big-polluter companies, including oil and gas, pulp and paper, electricity and iron and steel companies, must cut greenhouse emissions by six percent between 2008 and 2010. The companies would also have to produce an annual report every May 31 that would include data regarding the level of greenhouses emissions produced each year. Baird's proposal has been met with approval from Canada's oilpatch executives, who described them as the toughest emission regulations in the world, and who feared that more stringent standards would stifle oil sands exploration. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty had been considerably less critical than his brother, federal Liberal Member of Parliament David McGuinty, having written to Prime Minister Harper on the environmental policy. The Premier had stressed the importance of a policy that considered the North American market as a whole, due to the automotive industry's importance to his province. McGuinty said the Conservatives' environmental plan could have gone further but described the auto emissions part of the plan as "very sensible".

Members of opposition parties have criticized the government's abandonment of the Kyoto goals, while David Suzuki described the proposal as a "sham" with "weak targets". Former US vice president Al Gore said Baird's plan was a "complete and total fraud" that was "designed to mislead the Canadian people". Baird responded by defending his plan and by criticizing Gore's environmental record, noting that no similarly stringent measures were passed during Gore's tenure in office and that the Kyoto Treaty was never submitted to the US Senate for ratification. Liberal Party MP Pablo Rodriguez introduced to the House of Commons a private bill that would have forced Canada to comply with the Kyoto Treaty in response to the government's plan. While the bill passed, Baird mentioned that, even though that the government wouldn't dismiss the idea, there were no new environmental measures planned. All three opposition parties demanded that the environment become one of the main points of the government's Throne Speech in the 2007 fall session.

#### Environmental record

Shortly after his appointment, Baird, Stephen Harper and Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn announced \$1.5 billion for clean-energy initiatives over the next decade. Baird and Lunn also announced a \$230 million program for clean energy technology. Lunn said that "there were literally hundreds of programs but there was no focus" when the Conservatives took office. Critics argued that the new Conservative measures were similar to measures introduced by the Liberals in their 2005 budget. Former Liberal leader Stéphane Dion has argued that the Conservative Party's strategy is too strongly focused on nuclear energy.

On February 12, 2007, Baird appeared at a press conference with Stephen Harper and Quebec Premier Jean Charest to announce a \$1.5 billion environmental fund for the provinces. Journalist Frances Russell criticized that as a reduction from the \$3 billion promised by the previous Liberal government.

Canada is a signatory to the Kyoto protocol which legally requires signatory countries to set up compatible carbon trading markets. In direct defiance of this international legal obligation, in March 2007, Baird indicated that he wanted Canadian companies to be banned, or at least severely restricted, from participating in the international carbon market. Several European countries had already set up a trading system to allow companies that reduce their emission levels below government targets to sell "credits" on an international market. Many industry leaders argued that Canada should adopt a similar policy. Then-opposition leader Stéphane Dion argued that participation will allow Canadian firms to make "megatonnes of money". Baird however described some carbon markets as "shaky," and argued that trade should be restricted to within Canada, or perhaps within North America. In April he indicated that Canadian businesses would soon gain the right to earn credits by investing in overseas environmental projects.

Baird defended another Conservative government decision to cut funds for climate science research, arguing that further studies are largely superfluous in light of recent United Nations reports. Gordon McBean of the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences has disagreed, claiming that further research is the best way to adapt to a changing climate.

Baird said in a House of Commons Committee that his government would not consider the implementation of a carbon tax. He told that the government's approach "will be to provide regulation for industry to ensure we reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and reduce air pollutants"

#### Bali

While participating at the United Nations Summit On Climate Changes in Bali, Indonesia, Baird announced a \$86 million funding to help Canadian communities notably coping with the loss of forests due to pine beetles in the west and of infrastructures in the north due to softer soil. The four-year plan included \$56 million on several projects and \$29 million for research.

Baird was criticized by some parties and observers for obstructing progress on what was to become 'the Bali Action Plan'. Baird showed up for the Bali Conference at which it was intended he explain Canada's position at a meeting with non-governmental activists, but instead quickly left, with one of the activists alleging that Baird left because he "probably did not want to confront young activists critical of Canada's stand."

### Draft Baird Movement

In late November and early December 2008, a website went online allegedly representing a movement to draft Baird for leader of the Conservative Party, in the face of Stephen Harper facing possible defeat by an opposition coalition.

The draft group allegedly comprised over 100 party members from across the country—including two MPs and one Senator (who, reportedly, had requested anonymity). In its only contact with the media, the campaign claimed it had nearly 3,000 visitors and 237 new supporters in less than ten hours.

Baird indicated afterward not only that he was loyal to Harper, but that he was uninterested in ever becoming party leader. In 2011 he told a newspaper, "Some people may have when growing up, always harboured leadership ambitions. I've never harboured leadership ambitions. It is the honest-to-God truth."

### Minister of Transport (2008–2010)

Baird served as Minister of Transport between October 30, 2008, and August 6, 2010.

### 'Interim' Environment Minister 2010–2011

#### Cancun climate 'fossil awards'

After resuming his environment portfolio from November 2010 until January 2011, Baird was the Harper government's main representative to the United Nations climate conference in Cancun in December 2010. On the first day, Canada "won" three Fossil of the Day awards, awards which, after a vote by more than 400 leading international organizations, go to countries that do the most to disrupt or undermine UN climate talks." Canada under Baird was accused of "working against progressive legislation to address climate change", cited for "cancelling support for clean energy and for failing to have any plan to meet its very weak target for reducing [Canada]'s greenhouse gas emissions."

### Foreign Affairs Minister 2011–2015

Activists on board a Canadian boat taking supplies to Gaza (which had been blockaded by the Israeli government to ensure that weapons and other contraband did not enter Gaza) in November 2011 urged Baird to resign as foreign minister for "failing to do his job". They said they had been roughed up and Tasered by Israeli forces and that "If minister Baird wants to put the interests of a far-right Israeli government before Canadians, he should apply for the job of Israel's ambassador". Baird affirmed Canada's support for Likud's opposition to Palestinian statehood while visiting Israel in February 2012.

On September 7, 2012, he announced the sudden closure of Canada's embassy in Tehran and the expulsion of all Iranian diplomats from Canada. Baird made the announcement at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Russia. He said Canada's decision was not linked to growing speculation of an imminent attack by Israel on Iran's nuclear facilities. Baird said "Canada views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today." Canada's actions were immediately praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who described them as "bold leadership."

Baird signed an agreement between the Governments of the United Arab Emirates and Canada for cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Baird's criticism of the stance of several African countries on same-sex rights and of the Russian Federation for its ban on "homosexual propaganda" and other moves to suppress LGBT rights have been condemned by the social conservative lobby group REAL Women of Canada which issued a statement accusing him of "abuse of office" claiming that "Mr. Baird's actions are destructive to the conservative base in Canada and causing collateral damage to his party." A spokesman for Baird's office replied stating "The promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of Canada’s foreign policy."

Baird refused to sign the world Arms Trade Treaty, with the Canadian government reportedly ordering its diplomats to play a "low-key, minimal role" during negotiations and protect the rights of Canadian gun owners.

### Resignation and departing public office

Following his resignation as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baird remained a backbench MP for several weeks. On February 19, 2015, he represented the government at the re-opening of Canada House, the home of the Canadian High Commission to the United Kingdom. Baird's resignation from parliament took effect on March 16, 2015.

## Private sector

Since leaving politics, Baird has accepted several private sector appointments. In June 2015 he was hired as a strategic adviser to Hatch Ltd, an international engineering and consulting firm for companies in the resource industry. In October 2015 he joined political risk consulting firm Eurasia Group as a senior adviser, where he offers strategic insight to companies on how global politics affects business. He has also been hired as an adviser to Bennett Jones, and accepted an appointment to the board of directors of Canadian Pacific Railway.

On March 27, 2015, Barrick Gold Corp. announced Mr. Baird's appointment to its international advisory board, along with former U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich. No compensation details were disclosed in the filings.

In August 2018, Baird appeared on Saudi-owned TV station Al Arabiya to comment on the diplomatic dispute between Canada and Saudi Arabia and urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fly to Riyadh to apologize in person to the Saudi royal family. NDP MP Charlie Angus called the appearance "stunning" and suggested that the Ethics Commissioner should investigate the incident.

## Later political activity

Following the 2019 federal election, Baird was commissioned by the Conservative Party to investigate and deliver a report analyzing the party's campaign and the reasons for its failure to win the election. When party leader Andrew Scheer resigned, Baird supported Pierre Poilievre's prospective leadership campaign, agreeing to be its campaign chair. Poiliviere unexpectedly decided not to enter the campaign, however, and Baird was encouraged to run as a "true blue" candidate in his place. On February 13, 2020, Baird announced he would not be a candidate in the 2020 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election. He endorsed Pierre Poilievre in the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election.

## Electoral record

All electoral information taken from Elections Canada and Elections Ontario. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.

The 1999 and 2003 expenditure entries are taken from official candidate reports as listed by Elections Ontario. The figures cited are the Total Candidate's Campaign Expenses Subject to Limitation, and include transfers from constituency associations.

Canadian retired politician

Members of the Executive Council of Ontario

Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario

Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs

Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class