Basil L. Stewart is a Canadian politician served as the mayor of Summerside, Prince Edward Island from 2018 to 2022.
After his retirement from the police force, Stewart entered municipal politics, being elected mayor of the Town of Summerside in 1985.
He was defeated by then-incumbent Liberal MP Joe McGuire, who won with a plurality of approximately 3,700 votes.
He was accused of wasting $1.3 million of taxpayers' money, which was forwarded as a purported deposit towards a Michael Jackson tribute concert that never ended up happening,[2][3][4] "In January 2011, the city filed a complaint with the United States District Court, Northern District of California, San Jose Division, for fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, negligent misrepresentation and rescission (rescinding) of a contract against Katrina Berg Sussmeier and Starlink Productions Inc." At the 2014 Summerside mayoral election, Bill Martin, a Summerside businessman, was elected mayor with a vote of 4614 compared to Stewart's 2092, thus ending Stewart's 29-year run as mayor of Summerside.
[7] Mayor Stewart and city council of Summerside filed a lawsuit[8] against Deputy Police Chief David Griffin in 1997.