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Peter Bevan-Baker

The Honourable Peter Bevan-Baker MLA
Leader of the Opposition in Prince Edward Island
In office 9 May 2019 – 3 April 2023
Preceded by	James Aylward
Succeeded by	Hal Perry
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 April 2019
Preceded by	Riding established
Constituency	New Haven-Rocky Point
In office 4 May 2015 – 26 March 2019
Preceded by	Valerie Docherty
Succeeded by	Riding dissolved
Constituency	Kellys Cross-Cumberland
Leader of the Green Party of Prince Edward Island
In office 3 November 2012 – 21 July 2023
Deputy	Lynne Lund (2015–2023)
Preceded by	Darcie Lanthier (interim)
Succeeded by	Karla Bernard (interim)
Personal details
Born	Peter Stewart Bevan-Baker (1962-06-03) 3 June 1962 (age 62) Aberdeen, Scotland
Political party	Green
Residence	Bonshaw, Prince Edward Island[1]
Education	University of Glasgow
Occupation	Dentist
Website	peterbevanbaker.ca

Peter Stewart Bevan-Baker^[2] (born 3 June 1962) is a Scottish-Canadian politician. He served as the leader of the Green Party of Prince Edward Island from 2012 to 2023.^[3] He is currently the member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island representing New Haven-Rocky Point (formerly representing Kellys Cross-Cumberland). He previously stood as a candidate for both the Green Party of Ontario and the Green Party of Canada. Bevan-Baker is a dentist by profession as well as being an active writer, musician and public speaker. Bevan-Baker served as the Leader of the Official Opposition in the 66th General Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 2019 to 2023.^[4]

Personal life[edit]

He is the second child of composer John Bevan Baker and June Findlay. He holds a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Glasgow. In 1985 he emigrated to Canada, living first in Lewisporte, Newfoundland and then Brockville, Ontario before settling in Prince Edward Island in 2003. He became a Canadian citizen in 1992.^[5][6][7]

Political career[edit]

Bevan-Baker joined the Green Party of Canada in 1992, and has run as a candidate for the House of Commons of Canada in the elections of 1993, 1997 in the riding of Leeds—Grenville and provincially in 1995 in the riding of Leeds-Grenville in Ontario, and 2008 and 2011 in Malpeque, PEI.^[8]

In 1997, he ran on a platform that advocated establishing a Genuine Progress Index (GPI). This was proposed to replace the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the standard measure for assessing national progress with an index that gauged the health and well-being of people, communities and eco-systems. Though not elected from 1997 to 2001, he forged an alliance with Liberal MP Joe Jordan to draft the Canada Well-Being Measurement Bill (C-268), which incorporated many of the central tenets of the GPI. The bill received first reading on 14 February 2001, but did not become law.^{[citation needed]}

Bevan-Baker has also run three times as a candidate in provincial elections in Ontario, and on Prince Edward Island in the riding of Kelly's Cross-Cumberland in 2007 and 2011.^[9]

In 2012 he spearheaded a coalition from a broad spectrum of Islanders against a project known as "Plan B", which involved rerouting a portion of the Trans Canada Highway through a section of ancient Acadian forest, citing negative environmental and fiscal implications for the province. In 2015, Bevan-Baker was elected to the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly with 54% of the vote, winning the first-ever seat for the Green Party of Prince Edward Island.^[3][7] It was his tenth attempt at winning a seat.^[10] He is the third member of a provincial Green Party to win a seat in a provincial legislature in Canada, following Andrew WeaverinBritish Columbia and David CooninNew Brunswick.

In 2019 the Green Party under Bevan-Baker's leadership witnessed the best electoral performance of any Green Party in Canada, finishing with enough seats to form the Official Opposition, marking the first time that the Green Party has formed the Official Opposition at any level in Canadian history.

Following the 2023 election Bevan-Baker announced his intention to resign as leader.^[11] He was succeeded by fellow MLA Karla Bernard on an interim basis.^[12]

Electoral history[edit]

v t e 1995 Ontario general election: Leeds—Grenville
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Bob Runciman	21,763	63.27	+14.20	$ 44,550.77
	Liberal	Peter McKenna	8,955	26.03	−0.68	45,063.22
	New Democratic	Charles Stewart	2,316	6.73	−17.48	3,608.98
	Green	Peter Bevan-Baker	927	2.69		1,692.83
	Independent	Phillip Blancher	438	1.27		669.80
Total valid votes/Expense limit			34,399	100.0	+0.20	$ 47,488.00
Total rejected ballots			255	0.74
Turnout			34,654	63.06
Eligible voters			54,953
Source(s) "General Election of June 8 1995 – Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Retrieved 8 June 2014. "General Election of June 8 1995 – Statistical Summary". Elections Ontario. "1995 Details of Candidate Income and Expenses" (3.16MB). & "1995 Summary of Income and Campaign Expenses" ( Word'95 .doc files (146KB)).

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website