John Babington Macaulay Baxter

For other people named John Baxter, see John Baxter (disambiguation).

The Honourable John Babington Macaulay Baxter PC KC DCL
Baxter in 1944
19th Premier of New Brunswick
In office September 14, 1925 – May 19, 1931
Monarch	George V
Lieutenant Governor	William Frederick Todd Hugh Havelock McLean
Preceded by	Peter J. Veniot
Succeeded by	Charles D. Richards
MLA for Saint John County
In office December 7, 1911 – December 6, 1921 Serving with Allister F. Bentley, Thomas B. Carson, L. Murray Curran
Preceded by	James Lowell
Succeeded by	Allister F. Bentley
In office August 10, 1925 – May 19, 1931 Serving with B. H. Dougan, Marcus Lorne Jewett, James M. Scott
Preceded by	Allister F. Bentley
Succeeded by	Robert McAllister
Member of the Canadian Parliament for St. John—Albert
In office December 6, 1921 – July 23, 1925 Serving with Murray MacLaren
Preceded by	Rupert Wilson Wigmore
Succeeded by	Thomas Bell
Personal details
Born	(1868-02-16)February 16, 1868 Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Died	December 27, 1946(1946-12-27) (aged 78) Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Grace W. Coster ​ (m. 1924)​
Children	John B.M. Jr.; Frederick Coster Noel; Eleanor Crowden; and Mary Faith
Alma mater	King's College
Occupation	lawyer, jurist
Profession	politician

John Babington Macaulay Baxter PC KC DCL (February 16, 1868 – December 27, 1946) was a New Brunswick lawyer, jurist and the 19th premier of New Brunswick.

Baxter served in the Canadian Army and was the author of Historical Records of the New Brunswick Regiment, Royal Artillery, the unit he commanded from 1907 to 1912. He also had a keen interest in genealogy and in 1943 the New Brunswick Museum published his book titled Simon Baxter - The first United Empire Loyalist to settle in New Brunswick, (Canada).

Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, John Baxter served on the municipal council for eighteen years from 1892 to 1910. A Conservative Party member, he was elected to the 32nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly in 1911. He was appointed Attorney-General of the province, holding that office from 1915 to 1917. He entered federal politics and served as Minister of Customs and Excise under Prime Minister Arthur Meighen in 1921 before taking over the leadership of the provincial Conservative party and leading it to victory in 1925.

Baxter was a leader of the Maritime Rights Movement which expressed the discontent felt by the maritime provinces concerning their loss of influence in the Canadian confederation dominated by the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

He left politics in 1931 and was appointed Chief Justice of the New Brunswick Supreme Court in 1935 serving until his death. His son, John B. M. Baxter, Jr., later served in the cabinet of Richard Hatfield. He is the great grandfather of Luke Macaulay Baxter, the son of Kirk Macaulay Baxter.

He died in West Saint John in 1946 at 78.

Further reading

• Arthur T. Doyle, Front Benches and Back Rooms: A story of corruption, muckraking, raw partisanship and political intrigue in New Brunswick, Toronto: Green Tree Publishing, 1976.

External links

• John Babington Macaulay Baxter – Parliament of Canada biography
• Government of New Brunswick biography