Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin PC CC KC (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006.
For other people named Paul Martin, see Paul Martin (disambiguation).
Paul Martin
Jean Chrétien
Bill Graham (interim)
Jean Chrétien
Riding created
3
- Paul Martin Sr. (father)
- Eleanor Alice Adams (mother)
- Politician
- lawyer
- businessman
- author
The son of former secretary of state for external affairs Paul Martin Sr., Martin was a lawyer from Ontario before he became president and the chief executive officer of Canada Steamship Lines in 1973. He held that position until his election as a member of Parliament for the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard in 1988. Martin ran for leader of the Liberal Party in 1990, losing to Jean Chrétien. Martin would become Chrétien's longtime rival for the leadership of the party, though was appointed his minister of finance after the Liberal victory in the 1993 federal election. Martin oversaw many changes in the financial structure of the Canadian government, and his policies had a direct effect on eliminating the country's chronic fiscal deficit by drastically cutting spending and reforming various programs including social services.
In 2002, Martin resigned as finance minister when the tension with Chrétien reached its peak. Martin initially prepared to challenge Chrétien's leadership, though Chrétien announced his intention of retiring, triggering the November 2003 leadership election. Martin easily won the leadership and in the following month, became prime minister. In the 2004 federal election, the Liberal Party retained power, although only as a minority government due to the Liberal Party's sponsorship scandal that began in the late 1990s. Martin's government signed the Kelowna Accord to improve living conditions for indigenous peoples, reached an agreement with the provinces on increased funding for healthcare, and legalized same-sex marriage. In 2005, the opposition parties in the House of Commons passed a motion of no confidence contending that Martin's government was corrupt after the Gomery Commission released new details regarding the sponsorship scandal; this triggered the 2006 federal election, which saw the Liberals being defeated by the newly unified Conservative Party led by Stephen Harper, ending over 12 years of Liberal rule.
Shortly after the defeat, Martin stepped down as Liberal leader and declined to seek re-election in 2008. Evaluations of Martin's prime ministership have been mixed, whereas his tenure as finance minister is viewed more favourably. Now seen as a global diplomat, Martin continues to contribute on the international arena through a variety of initiatives such as Incentives for Global Health, the not-for-profit behind the Health Impact Fund, where he serves as a member of the advisory board. He also sits as an advisor to Canada's Ecofiscal Commission.
Early life[edit]
Martin was born at Hôtel-Dieu of St. Joseph Hospital in Windsor, Ontario,[1] and grew up in Windsor and Ottawa. His father, Paul Martin Sr., a Franco-Ontarian of Irish and French descent, served 33 years as a member of the House of Commons of Canada, and was a Cabinet minister in the Liberal governments of Prime Ministers W. L. Mackenzie King, Louis St. Laurent, Lester B. Pearson, and Pierre E. Trudeau. His mother, Eleanor "Nell" Alice (née Adams), was of Scottish and Irish descent.[2] He had one sister, Mary-Anne Bellamy, who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at a young age.[3] She died on July 20, 2011.[4] Martin contracted polio in 1946 at the age of eight (like his father, who contracted the disease in 1907).[5] To give him the opportunity to improve his French, his parents enrolled him in a private French-language middle school, École Garneau, in Ottawa.
Martin then briefly attended the University of Ottawa before transferring and graduating from St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto with a B.A. in history and philosophy in 1961.[6][7] He was a member of the U of T Young Liberals[8] during his time at the University of Toronto. He then attended the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, where he received an LL.B. in 1964. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1966.[1]
On September 11, 1965, Martin married Sheila Ann Cowan,[9] with whom he has three sons: Paul, Jamie and David.
Business career[edit]
Board of directors[edit]
In 1969, Power Corporation took a controlling share in Canada Steamship Lines. On December 2, 1970, Paul Martin, the 32-year-old executive assistant[8] to Power Corporation Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Maurice Strong, was appointed to the CSL board of directors. In 1971, CSL minority shareholders sold outstanding shares to Power Corporation, making CSL a Power Corporation subsidiary.
Early political career (1988–1993)[edit]
In 1988, Martin was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the southwestern Montreal riding of LaSalle-Émard. He was re-elected without much difficulty at every election until he retired from politics.
In 1984, the Liberal Party was defeated under the leadership of John Turner, falling to just 40 seats. A group of young Liberals approached Martin as a possible candidate to replace Turner, and while he did not take part in an attempt to overthrow Turner, he did prepare to succeed him in the leadership should the position open.
Martin was a candidate at the 1990 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, losing to Jean Chrétien in a bitter race that resulted in lasting animosity between the two men and their supporters. A key moment in that race took place at an all-candidates debate in Montreal, where the discussion quickly turned to the Meech Lake Accord. Martin, favouring Meech, attempted to force Chrétien to abandon his nuanced position on the deal and declare for or against it. When Chrétien refused to endorse the deal, young Liberal delegates crowding the hall began to chant "vendu" ("sellout" in French) and "Judas" at Chrétien. Chrétien was upset at the response from the floor and another similar outburst by Martin supporters at the convention when Chrétien accepted the party leadership. Jean Lapierre and his supporters, who supported Martin, wore black armbands at the convention to protest Chrétien's victory. The Meech Lake accord was officially defeated just one day before the Liberal leadership was to be decided. In the House of Commons, Lapierre then crossed the floor to the newly formed Bloc Québécois.[10]
After the leadership convention, Martin co-authored the election platform Creating Opportunity, colloquially known as the Red Book. The Liberal Party won a landslide majority government in the 1993 election.
Becoming prime minister[edit]
The conflict between the two men reached a peak in 2002. Martin left Cabinet, being replaced by John Manley as finance minister. There is some question about whether Martin resigned or Chrétien had him dismissed. Being out of Cabinet was likely a boost to Martin's campaign as he was no longer obligated to disclose his donors. Soon after, Martin declared his intention to run as leader of the Liberal Party at the next party convention. Over the summer of 2002, Martin toured the country campaigning to succeed Chrétien while his Liberal organizers prepared to challenge Chrétien's leadership during a review vote in January 2003. During the fall, Chrétien announced that he would step down in the spring of 2004 after less than half of caucus agreed to sign a commitment supporting him. The Liberal party called a leadership convention for the fall of 2003, to be held in Toronto.
Several other potential leadership contenders, such as Brian Tobin and Allan Rock, declined to enter the contest. John Manley's attacks on Martin's refusal to disclose his campaign contributors did little to dent the latter's commanding lead and Manley eventually conceded the race. This left no strong candidate for Chrétien supporters to rally around, and some of them grudgingly voted for Martin.
On September 21, 2003, Martin easily defeated his sole remaining opponent, former Deputy Prime Minister Sheila Copps, securing 93 percent of the party delegates. On November 14, 2003, he was declared the winner at the Liberal leadership convention, capturing 3,242 of 3,455 votes. He had won the leadership almost unopposed, due to his hold on the party machinery, and because Chrétien supporters did not rally around either of the leadership opponents.
Simon Fraser University professor Doug McArthur has noted that Martin's leadership campaign used aggressive tactics for the 2003 leadership convention, in attempting to end the contest before it could start by giving the impression that his bid was too strong. McArthur blamed Martin's tactics for the ongoing sag in Liberal fortunes, as it discouraged activists who were not on side.[17]
Prime Minister (2003–2006)[edit]
Majority government and sponsorship controversy[edit]
On December 12, 2003, Martin was appointed by then-Governor General Adrienne Clarkson as the 21st Prime Minister of Canada. When sworn in as prime minister, Martin held the flag that flew on Parliament Hill when the elder Martin died. Both father and son had served as Cabinet ministers and contested the Liberal leadership on multiple occasions; their attempts from 1948 to 1990 were unsuccessful. Martin's election as leader and becoming prime minister was described as fulfilling a family dream. Both also earned the honorific prefix The Right Honourable. One difference between them was that Paul Sr. was one of the most left-wing members of the party, while Paul Jr. is considered on the right-wing.[18]
When he was sworn in, Martin's new cabinet retained only half the ministers from Chrétien's government, a noteworthy break in tradition from previous instances where a retiring prime minister handed over power to his successor as party leader. Martin and his supporters exercised control over the riding nomination process, breaking with the precedent to automatically sign the nomination papers of backbenchers and former ministers who wanted to run for reelection. While these were signs of open party infighting, this had little impact on Martin's record popularity, with several pundits suggesting that the cabinet change was meant to present a new government different from Chrétien's ten-year tenure.
Martin and the Liberals were adversely affected by a report from Auditor General Sheila Fraser on February 9, 2004, indicating that sponsorship contracts designed to increase the federal government's status in Quebec resulted in little to no work done. Many of the agencies had Liberal ties, and roughly $100 million of the $250 million in program spending went missing. The scandal hurt Martin's popularity, especially in Quebec, where Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe even accused Martin of planning to widen the St. Lawrence seaway to benefit his own Canada Steamship Lines. The scandal also cast skepticism on Martin's recommendations for Cabinet appointments, prompting speculation Martin was simply ridding the government of Chrétien's supporters to distance the Liberals from the scandal. Martin acknowledged that there was political direction but denied involvement in, or knowledge of, the sponsorship contracts. He had a judicial inquiry called to investigate what came to be known as the Sponsorship Scandal, and nominated John Gomery to head it.
During his term, Martin appeared as himself in a fictional, comedic context in several programs, including an episode of the CTV sitcom Corner Gas in 2006, and also in the CBC mockumentary series Jimmy MacDonald's Canada in 2005.
A Trillium-class freighter in Canada Steamship Lines, Rt. Hon. Paul E. Martin, is named for him.