Peter Baker (April 1887 – November 13, 1973), born Bedouin Ferran, also known as Ahmad Ali Ferran[1] and Faron 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 the history 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, and was elected a member of the NWT Council at the time, now called the Legislative 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 in Al-Rashid Mosque in Edmonton, Alberta. Baker was identified in the 17 November 1973 press of Edmonton 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.
. Abraham Okpik . Louis McComber . We Call It Survival: The Life Story of Abraham Okpik . 97 . Life Stories of Northern Leaders . 1 . . 2005 . http://www.traditional-knowledge.ca/english/pdf/We-Call-It-Survival-E.pdf . 2017-02-12.