The Rt. Honourable John R. Baird

John Baird is a senior advisor to various enterprises and a former senior cabinet minister in the Government of Canada.

An instrumental figure in bilateral trade and investment relationships, Mr. Baird worked closely with international leaders to strengthen security and economic ties with the United States and Middle Eastern countries. He played a leading role in the Canada-China dialogue and worked to build partnerships with ASEAN countries.

Mr. Baird spent two decades in elected office. During that time, he served in senior cabinet roles, including four years as Minister of Foreign Affairs, President of the Treasury Board, Minister of the Environment, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, and Minister of Energy. In 2010, MPs from all parties selected him as Parliamentarian of the Year.

Mr. Baird is a Senior Business Advisor with Bennett Jones LLP, a premier Canadian law firm. He also sits on the International Advisory Board of Barrick Gold Corp. and the corporate boards of Canadian Forest Products (Canfor, as Chair), the FWD Group (former ING Insurance Asia), and PineBridge Investments (former AIG Investments). He is also a Senior Advisor at Eurasia Group, a global political risk consultancy.

Mr. Baird also volunteers with Community Living Ontario, an organization that supports individuals with developmental disabilities and is a Friends of Israel Initiative board member. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies and an Honourary Doctor of Laws from Queen’s University at Kingston. (Source: Bennett Jones)