Edward Dmytro Bayda was born on September 9, 1931 in Alvena, Saskatchewan to Dymtro and Mary (Bilinski) Bayda. He attended Alvena High School, and City Park Collegiate in Saskatoon. Bayda continued his education at the University of Saskatchewan and received a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in Philosophy and Political Science in 1951, and a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1953. He graduated cum laude and won Carswell Prizes in his first and third years of law school. Bayda articled under M.A. MacPherson, Q.C. of MacPherson, Leslie & Tyerman and was admitted to the Saskatchewan Bar on June 30, 1954.
Bayda continued to practise law with MacPherson, Leslie & Tyerman, and later with A.M. Kindred in Yorkton. He was a partner with Johnson, Bayda & Trudelle, and a senior partner with Bayda, Halvorson, Scheibel & Thompson from 1966 to 1972. He specialized primarily in civil law, but also worked in criminal law, appeals and commercial transactions. Bayda was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1966, Justice to the Court of Queen's Bench in 1972, and Justice to the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan in 1974. From 1981 to 2006, Bayda served as Chief Justice of Saskatchewan.
Bayda was a past president and past director of the Regina Bar Association, a past Bencher with the Law Society of Saskatchewan, and a past chairman for the Saskatchewan Civil Justice Section of the Canadian Bar Association. He was appointed Commissioner of the Vancouver Port Area Grain Handling Industrial Inquiry (1974-1975), the Saskatchewan Law Reform Commission (1974-1976) and the Cluff Lake Board of Inquiry (1977-1978). Chief Justice Bayda received Honourary Doctor of Laws degrees from the University of Saskatchewan (1989) and the University of Regina (2006).
Other honours awarded to Bayda included: the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Confederation (1992); the B'nai B'rith Citizen of the Year (1995); the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002); the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal (2005); the University of Saskatchewan's 100 Alumni of Influence (2007); the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Nation Builders Award (2008) and the Saskatchewan Order of Merit (2008).
Bayda was involved in a number of service, church and business clubs. His involvement in the Kinsmen Club included serving as president and executive member of the Queen City Kinsmen Club, as well as serving as National Registrar of the Association of Kinsmen Clubs. He also served as president of the St. Anne's Men's Club and served on councils for the Knights of Columbus and the Canadian Association of the Sovereign & Military Order of Malta. Bayda was a director of the Assiniboia Club in Regina and was a former member of the Regina Chamber of Commerce. He served (2005) as Honourary Patron to the Regina Lyric Light Opera Society and Patron to the Canadian Club of Regina. Bayda was a longtime supporter of the United Way of Regina, Campion College, Regina's Globe Theatre, and various other charitable campaigns.
E.D. Bayda married Yvonne Gagné in May, 1953. They had six children: Paula, Christopher, Margot, Marie-Thérèse, Sheila and Kathryn. Yvonne Bayda died on January 10, 2002. He was subsequently married to Lorraine Bethell. Bayda died while on vacation in Izmir, Turkey on April 2, 2010.
