| François Baby | |
| Birth Date: | 16 December 1768 |
| Birth Place: | Detroit, Upper Canada |
| Death Place: | Windsor, Upper Canada |
| Occupation: | Politician |
François Baby (December 16, 1768 - August 27, 1852) was a French-Canadian businessman, soldier, and politician in Upper Canada. He was based in Detroit when it was still under the control of Great Britain and before it was ceded to the newly independent United States. After the British evacuated Fort Detroit in 1796, he moved with his family across the Detroit River and established residence in Sandwich (now Windsor, Ontario).
Baby was born in Detroit in 1768, the son of Jacques Baby and his wife. He was named for his father's brother François Baby, a prominent merchant. Baby was born five years after France ceded this territory to Great Britain after the Seven Years' War. A French Canadian Roman Catholic, Baby belonged to one of the richest and most powerful families in the Western District of Upper Canada at that time. In 1792, he was elected to represent Kent County (now Ontario) in the first Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.
After the British evacuated Fort Detroit in 1796, Baby eventually moved across the Detroit River to Sandwich in Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, he joined British forces. He was captured by the Americans in 1814. During the war, Baby's newly constructed house at Sandwich (Windsor) was taken over by invading American troops. After he returned, he discovered that his home had been plundered and damaged. He never felt that he was adequately compensated by the US.
In 1820, Baby was elected to the legislative assembly representing Essex. Although connected with the elite, he supported moderate reformers. Baby was an early proponent of bilingualism, requesting that the acts of the legislature be translated into French. He opposed the union of Upper and Lower Canada.
During the 1840s, Baby operated a ferry service across the Detroit River between Windsor and Detroit.
He died in Windsor in 1852 and was buried in the churchyard of Assumption Church (possibly relocated to Assumption Cemetery's current location.[1]