John Baird Laidlaw

John Baird Laidlaw (March 31, 1866 — August 25, 1953) was an insurance executive and Toronto city councillor who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1937.

Laidlaw was a grandson of Franklin Jackes who sat on the last council of York, Upper Canada in 1833 before it was incorporated as the City of Toronto, was a member of Toronto's first city council and a supporter of William Lyon Mackenzie and the Upper Canada Rebellion.

He was educated at Jarvis Collegiate Institute before entering the insurance business. He was general manager of the Canadian and Newfoundland branch of the Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society from 1900 until 1930 when he was appointed Canadian director. From 1917 to 1930 he was also president and director of the Canadian Security Assurance Company.

His wife, Berta Fredericka Laidlaw, was a social worker who helped establish several old age homes in Toronto and was also active with the Women's Progressive Conservative Association. She died in 1947. They had two daughters and a son.