Federal Politics
Baird supported a Canadian Alliance candidate in the 2000 federal election, and later endorsed Stephen Harper's bid to lead the newly-formed Conservative Party of Canada in its 2004 leadership election. He was subsequently appointed as the Conservative Party's Ontario co-chair for the 2004 federal election. There were rumours that Baird would leave provincial politics to contest the 2004 election, but this did not happen. In 2005, he resigned his provincial seat to campaign federally for the Conservative Party.
Baird won a contested nomination battle for Ottawa West—Nepean Conservative nomination on May 5, 2005, defeating challengers Ed Mahfouz, Margret Kopala and Ade Olumide. John Pacheco, a leader in the social conservative movement against same-sex marriage, had also sought the nomination but was disqualified due to past comments he had made alleging that homosexual practices posed a health risk. Pacheco later campaigned in the election as an "Independent conservative," with the specific intent of being a spoiler against Baird. He argued that if his campaign caused Baird to lose, the Conservatives would "get the message that social conservatives are serious about their politics." Baird chose to ignore Pacheco entirely in at least one all-candidates debate.
Baird was elected, defeating Liberal candidate Lee Farnworth by about 5,000 votes. The Ottawa Citizen endorsed Baird in this campaign, and argued that his political judgment had improved considerably since his tenure as a Harris cabinet minister. In December 2006, Baird was one of thirteen Conservative MPs who voted against reopening the national debate on same-sex marriage.
Baird has played an aggressive role in Question Period since his appointment to cabinet, leading MP Garth Turner to describe him as Stephen Harper's "Commons pit bull".
Read more about this topic: John Baird (Canadian Politician)
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