| Birth Name: | Gerald William Baldwin |
| Birth Date: | 18 January 1907 |
| Birth Place: | Palmerston, New Zealand |
| Office: | Opposition House Leader |
| Leader: | Robert Stanfield |
| Term Start: | August 14, 1974 |
| Term End: | February 24, 1976 |
| Predecessor: | Thomas Miller Bell |
| Successor: | Walter Baker |
| Leader1: | Robert Stanfield |
| Term Start1: | July 27, 1968 |
| Term End1: | September 20, 1973 |
| Predecessor1: | Michael Starr |
| Successor1: | Thomas Miller Bell |
| Office2: | Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada |
| Alongside2: | Théogène Ricard |
| Primeminister2: | John Diefenbaker |
| Term Start2: | August 17, 1962 |
| Term End2: | February 6, 1963 |
| Predecessor2: | John Pallett |
| Successor2: | Alexis Caron Jack Davis |
| Constituency Mp3: | Peace River |
| Parliament3: | Canadian |
| Term Start3: | . March 31, 1958 |
| Term End3: | February 18, 1980 |
| Successor3: | Albert Cooper |
| Occupation: | lawyer |
| Spouse: | Beulah Baldwin |
| Relatives: | Chrystia Freeland (great-niece)[1] |
Gerald William "Ged" Baldwin (January 18, 1907 - December 16, 1991) was a Canadian politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Peace River from 1958 to 1980. He was known as the "Father and Grandfather" of the Access to Information Act.
Born in Palmerston, New Zealand, Baldwin was educated in Edmonton, Alberta and became a lawyer. He stood unsuccessfully for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1935 general election, as the Conservative candidate in the riding of Peace River. During World War II, he served with the Canadian Army in Britain and Europe.
He first ran for the House of Commons in 1957, as a Progressive Conservative in the riding of Peace River against Solon E. Low, the leader of the Social Credit Party of Canada. He was defeated, but ran against Low again in the 1958 election and was successful. From 1962 to 1963, he was the Parliamentary Secretary to John Diefenbaker, the Prime Minister of Canada. From 1968 to 1973 and again from 1974 to 1976, under Robert Stanfield, he was the Official Opposition House Leader and Progressive Conservative House Leader. He retired from Parliament in 1980.
In 1982, he received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Alberta. In 1985, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. The citation for his investiture reads in part: "His efforts have stimulated many others to take up the cause [of freedom of information], thus encouraging governments in many jurisdictions across Canada to adopt similar legislation." He published his autobiography, Frontier Justice, in 1987.
Baldwin's wife, Beulah, is the sister of Wilbur Freeland, paternal grandfather of Liberal MP and cabinet minister Chrystia Freeland.[2] Beulah's background is recounted in her book The Long Trail - The Story of a Pioneer Family (NeWest Press).