Percival Baker (January 11, 1867 – July 19, 1921) was a farmer, church minister, and provincial politician in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He was elected as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

in the 1921 provincial election, however died the next day from injuries sustained weeks before.

Early life

Baker was born in

York County, Ontario York County is a historic county in Upper Canada, Canada West, and the Canadian province of Ontario. It was organized by the Upper Canada administration from the lands of the Toronto Purchase and others. Created in 1792, at its largest size, ...

in 1867. He attended

Kentucky University The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. After graduating from University he joined the ministry of the Baptist Church and served for many years. He moved to Alberta in 1908 and took up farming.

Political career and death

He ran as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

in the 1913 provincial election, and was defeated by Liberal incumbent William A. Campbell. Baker became heavily involved in the

United Farmers of Alberta The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...

eventually becoming Vice President for the organization. He successfully ran in the 1921 provincial election, for the

. Baker faced Campbell again, however this time Campbell was attempting to regain his seat, after losing it in the 1917 election to a Conservative candidate. Baker won despite being unable to campaign for the last weeks of the election, he won his district of Ponoka by a large majority. The accident that claimed his life happened about three weeks prior, on his farm, while chopping down trees. After the accident he was transferred to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, and died from injuries about 24 hours after his victory was announced. Prior to his death it was speculated he would have been a member of the United Farmers governing cabinet. Future Premier

John Edward Brownlee John Edward Brownlee (August 27, 1883 – July 15, 1961) was the fifth premier of Alberta, serving from 1925 until 1934. Born in Port Ryerse, Ontario, Port Ryerse, Ontario, he studied history and political science at the University of Toronto's ...

would replace him as the representative for his electoral district. Brownlee was acclaimed in a by-election held on December 9, 1921. Baker was a family man, at the time of his death he left behind a wife and 7 children (2 daughters and 5 sons).

References

External links

Percival Baker Roots WebMember - Elect Ponoka died as a result of farm accident, Edmonton Journal July 20, 1921
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Percival 1862 births 1921 deaths Farmers from Alberta People from the Regional Municipality of York United Farmers of Alberta MLAs Accidental deaths in Alberta Elected officials who died without taking their seats 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta