Remembering MLA Michael Baker

Michael Baker’s courageous battle with cancer has ended.

The popular Lunenburg lawyer and politician died March 2 at the age of 52 after battling the disease for nearly three years.

Mr. Baker was born in Lunenburg on January 28, 1957, and attended Lunenburg Academy and Lunenburg Junior Senior High School, graduating in 1975.

He went on to attend Dalhousie University in Halifax, obtaining his Bachelor of Law degree before joining the firm of Hennigar, Wells and Lamey in 1982 where he completed his Articles, becoming a partner in 1984.

Mr. Baker began his career in provincial politics in March of 1998 when he ran for the Progressive Conservatives in his home riding of Lunenburg, narrowly defeating incumbent Liberal Lila O’Connor by 132 votes.

In an election held in July of the following year, Mr. Baker steamrolled to victory, garnering 51 per cent of the ballots cast and besting Ms O’Connor, who finished in second place, by over 2200 votes.

That trend of victories continued through subsequent elections held in 2003 with the reelection of then Premier John Hamm, as well as the election of 2006 which followed current Premier Rodney MacDonald assuming leadership of the party at a convention held that year in February.

Although Mr. Baker was rumoured to be a possible successor following the retirement of Mr. Hamm, he opted out of the running, despite encouragement from his many supporters.

Two months after the leadership convention, on April 25, Mr. Baker was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer which took the form of a lump in his neck.

He underwent surgery on May 11, just two days after tabling his first budget as finance minister and three days after being unopposed in his bid to run for the Conservatives in a June 13 provincial election which would be called by Mr. MacDonald on May 13 .

Although weakened by the operation, he was still on hand to open his Lunenburg campaign office with Mr. MacDonald on May 20 and later ran a spirited campaign to capture his fourth term in office.

For the next nine months Mr. Baker appeared to be making strides health wise. However, on March 23, 2007, just prior to the tabling of his second budget, he announced in the legislature that his cancer had returned.

Although Mr. Baker chose not to seek the province’s top political position, he was none-the-less a major cog in the governmental wheel, serving as minister for a variety of portfolios during the ten years he served as a governing Conservative.

Those posts included Minister in charge of Transport and Public Works, Aboriginal Affairs, Communications Nova Scotia, Finance, Justice and Human Rights, as well as minister responsible for the Regulations Act and Part II of the Workers Compensation Act.

During his tenure in cabinet, he left his mark on several major local projects, including the new Lunenburg County Justice Centre in Bridgewater, the new provincial building which was opened in Lunenburg in July of 2008, the purchase of the former Clearwater Foods properties on the Lunenburg waterfront by the province in August of 2005 and the public acquisition of a number of Mahone Bay islands in cooperation with the Mahone Islands Conservation Association over the past several years.

Mr. Baker is survived by his wife, the former Cynthia Corkum, sons Matthew and Daniel and parents Gilbert and Barbara Baker, all of Lunenburg, brother Peter, Martin’s Brook and sister Valerie Burley, Guelph, Ontario.

Funeral services were held March 5 from Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lunenburg, Rev. Vivian Roberts officiating.

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