Paul Joseph James Martin

The Right Honorable
Paul Joseph James Martin
PC, CC, QC
12th Secretary of State for External Affairs
In office
22 April 1963 (1963-04-22)  20 April 1968 (1968-04-20)
Prime Minister Lester Pearson
Preceded by Howard Charles Green
Succeeded by Mitchell Sharp
Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
In office
1974–1979
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau,
Joe Clark
Preceded by Jake Warren
Succeeded by Jean Casselman Wadds
Senator for Windsor-Walkerville, Ontario
In office
April 20, 1968  October 30, 1974
Appointed by Pierre Trudeau
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Essex East
In office
1935–1968
Preceded by Raymond Morand
Succeeded by Riding was abolished in 1966
Personal details
Born Joseph James Guillaume Paul Martin
(1903-06-23)June 23, 1903
Ottawa, Ontario
Died September 14, 1992(1992-09-14) (aged 89)
Windsor, Ontario
Nationality Canadian
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Eleanor Alice "Nelly" Adams
Children Paul Martin
Cabinet Secretary of State of Canada (1945–1946)
Minister of National Health and Welfare (1946–1957)
Minister of Labour (Acting) (1950)
Secretary of State for External Affairs (1963–1968)
Minister Without Portfolio (1968–1969)
Committees Chairman, Special Committee on Prices (1947–1948)
Portfolio Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Labour (1943–1945)
Leader of the Government in the Senate (1969–1974)

Joseph James Guillaume Paul Martin,[1][2] PC CC QC (June 23, 1903 September 14, 1992), often referred to as Paul Martin, Sr, was a noted Canadian politician. He was the father of Paul Martin (Jr.), who served as Prime Minister of Canada from 2003–2006.

Early life

Martin was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of Lumina (née Chouinard) and Joseph Philippe Ernest Martin.[1] His Irish Catholic paternal grandfather's family immigrated from County Mayo, while his mother and paternal grandmother were French Canadian.[1][3]

Martin contracted polio in 1907 (his son, Paul Martin (Jr.), contracted the disease in 1946).[4] Martin was raised in Pembroke, Ontario, in the Ottawa River Valley, although he attended high school at Collège Saint-Alexandre in Gatineau, Quebec. He completed his university education at the University of Toronto, and earned his law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. Later, Martin studied at the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, on a scholarship.

Martin later opened a law practice in Windsor, Ontario.

Politics

MP

A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, he was first elected to the House of Commons in 1935 and entered the cabinet in 1945. He went on to serve as a noted member of the cabinets of four Prime Ministers: William Lyon Mackenzie King, Louis St. Laurent, Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau.

Martin was viewed as one of the most left-wing members of the Liberal cabinet, and as Minister of National Health and Welfare from 1946 to 1957 he played an important role in the fight against polio and overseeing the creation of hospital insurance in Canada, and is sometimes recognized as a father of medicare. Martin served as Secretary of State for External Affairs in the Pearson government, and was instrumental in the acquisition of U.S. nuclear weapons for Canadian Forces.[5]

Hon. Paul Martin (left) and Rt. Hon. W.L. Mackenzie King attending the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly, 23 October 1946

Liberal leadership bids

He ran for the Liberal leadership three times, in 1948, in 1958 and 1968, but was defeated at all three Liberal leadership conventions, first by Louis St. Laurent, then by Lester B. Pearson, then by Pierre Trudeau.

Senator and beyond

Trudeau appointed him to the Senate in 1968. He served as Leader of the Government in the Senate until 1974 when he was appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He also served as Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University from 1972–1977, as a result of which the university named the Paul Martin Centre in his honour. Until his death Paul Martin was an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Windsor.

His two volume memoirs, A Very Public Life, was published in 1983 (ISBN 0888790929) and 1986 (OCLC 165756245 A very public life: So many worlds Volume 2 of A very public life at Google Books).

Honours

In 1976 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. In recognition of his accomplishments, Martin was granted the right to use the honorific Right Honourable in 1992, a rare honour for one who has never been Prime Minister, Governor-General or Chief Justice of Canada.

The University of Windsor has a Paul Martin Chair in law and political science, recently held by former Manitoba Premier Howard Pawley (until his retirement from the University of Windsor), and the Paul Martin Law Library. The City of Windsor had also renamed their "Post Office Building" the Paul Martin Sr. Building in his honour on November 18, 1994.

Honorary Degrees

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Electoral record

Essex East
Canadian federal election, 1935
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMARTIN, Paul 7,562 39.25 -4.31
Conservative MORAND, Hon. Raymond D. 6,493 33.71 -22.73
Co-operative CommonwealthLEVERT, Joseph Ben 4,106 21.32
ReconstructionMCPHARLIN, J. Gabriel 1,102 5.72
Total valid votes 19,263100.00
Canadian federal election, 1940
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMARTIN, Paul 9,811 46.39 +7.14
National GovernmentMORAND, Hon. Raymond D. 8,060 38.11 +4.40
Co-operative CommonwealthLEVERT, Joseph Ben 2,879 13.62 -7.70
     Canadian Labour HICKS, Roy Robert 398 1.88
Total valid votes 21,148100.00
Canadian federal election, 1945
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMARTIN, Hon. Paul 16,165 56.21 +9.82
Progressive ConservativeBYRNE, James E. 8,244 28.67 -9.44
Co-operative CommonwealthMACDONALD, William C. 4,349 15.12 +1.50
Total valid votes 28,758100.00
Canadian federal election, 1949
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMARTIN, Hon. Paul 16,709 52.89 -3.32
Progressive ConservativeTURNBULL, James Russell 8,204 25.97 -2.70
Co-operative CommonwealthRIGGS, William Charles 5,213 16.50 +1.38
Labor–ProgressivePRINCE, Cyril 1,464 4.64
Total valid votes 31,590100.00
Canadian federal election, 1953
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMARTIN, Hon. Paul 19,946 67.16 +14.27
Progressive ConservativeKENNEDY, Aloysius 5,530 18.62 -7.35
Co-operative CommonwealthOWEN, Kenneth Edwin 3,013 10.14 -6.36
Labor–ProgressiveKENNEDY, Michael J. 1,212 4.08 -0.56
Total valid votes 29,701100.00
Canadian federal election, 1957
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMARTIN, Hon. Paul 22,023 57.15 -10.01
Progressive ConservativeHICKS, Roy R. 10,593 27.49 +8.87
Co-operative CommonwealthMETEER, Jack 5,917 15.36 +5.22
Total valid votes 38,533100.00
Canadian federal election, 1958
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMARTIN, Hon. Paul 18,074 41.98 -15.17
Progressive ConservativeHICKS, Roy R. 16,451 38.21 +10.72
Co-operative CommonwealthBURR, Fred A. 8,530 19.81 +4.45
Total valid votes 43,055100.00
Canadian federal election, 1962
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMARTIN, Hon. Paul 24,969 58.69 +16.71
New DemocraticDRURY, George 8,888 20.89 +1.08
Progressive ConservativeDEMERS, Roland Lionel 8,210 19.30 -18.91
Social CreditCORY, T.R. 476 1.12
Total valid votes 42,543100.00
Canadian federal election, 1963
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMARTIN, Hon. Paul 25,727 59.82 +1.13
Progressive ConservativeGOURLIE, David 8,894 20.68 +1.38
New DemocraticMCCONVILLE, Hugh 7,648 17.78 -3.11
Social CreditGIGNAC, Frank 740 1.72 +0.60
Total valid votes 43,009100.00
Canadian federal election, 1965
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMARTIN, Hon. Paul 26,094 63.78 +3.96
Progressive ConservativeGOURLIE, David 8,142 19.90 -0.78
New DemocraticMCCONVILLE, Hugh 6,133 14.99 -2.79
CommunistMAGNUSON, Bruce A.H. 543 1.33
Total valid votes 40,912100.00

See also

References

Further reading

External links

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