Peter Baker (April 1887 – November 13, 1973), bornBedouin Ferran, also known asAhmad Ali Ferran[1] andFaron Ahmed upon death, was a Lebanese-born Canadian trader, politician, and author.[2] As the first Muslim elected to public office in Canada, he played a fundamental role in thehistory of Islam in the Arctic and Subarctic regions.
Baker was born in 1887 as Bedouin Ferran or as Ahmad Ali Ferran[1] on the territory of Levant, which is now Lebanon.[2]
At the turn of the century, he emigrated to Canada from the Turkish (Ottoman) conscription for young Arabs whom Turkey made to fight against the Yemenis.[1]
Ferran worked at a Holy Cross College as a labourer, and in 1909, was given his anglicised name by the college's Catholic priest. Thereonafter, he moved to the province of Alberta.[2]
In the 1910s, Baker began work as a trapper[3] and trader of northern fur and essentials with First Nations, establishing with his Indigenous trading partners novel and adaptive ways of both trade and credit.[4]
After his trade ended, Baker entered politics, andwas elected a member of the NWT Council at the time, now called theLegislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories for the period of 1964–1967.[5] He was one of the earliest Muslim politicians in Canada.[6]
Baker's funeral took place on 19 November 1973 inAl-Rashid Mosque in Edmonton, Alberta. Baker was identified in the 17 November 1973 press ofEdmonton Journal's Deaths and Notices section as Baker, Peter (Faron Ahmed).[7][2]
Baker authored a book,Memoirs of an Arctic Arab, published posthumously in 1976.