Biography
The Right Honourable Paul Martin
Prime Minister of Canada
The Honourable Paul Martin, MP for LaSalle-Émard
Paul Martin’s bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada in 2003
is part of a long and distinguished career.
Martin is the Member of Parliament for LaSalle-Émard in Montreal, Quebec. He
was first elected federally in 1988. In 1990, he ran for the leadership of the
Liberal Party of Canada and finished second at the leadership convention.
From 1991 to 1993, Martin was associate finance critic and critic for the
environment for the Liberal opposition in the House of Commons. In 1993, he
played a key role in developing the Liberal platform for the federal election
and co-authored Creating Opportunity: The Liberal Plan for Canada, better known
as the “Red Book.”
Liberals were returned to power in the 1993 vote and Martin was sworn in as
Minister of Finance. He served in that role from November 1993 until June 2002.
During his time as finance minister, Canada recorded five consecutive budget
surpluses, erased a $42 billion deficit, paid down more than $36 billion in
debt, invested in health care and other key priorities and put in place the
largest tax cuts in Canadian history.
As Canada’s finance minister, Martin was highly regarded on the world stage
and represented Canada at a series of international summits. In September 1999,
he was named inaugural chair of the G-20, an international group composed of G-7
nations and emerging market nations. He is respected internationally in part for
his leadership in forging a new world financial order in which emerging
economies would be prevented from plunging into ruinous financial crises.
Martin was born in Windsor, Ontario in 1938. He has a sister, Mary Anne. His
mother, Eleanor (“Nell”), died in 1993. His father, a distinguished
Parliamentarian, died in 1992.
The Honourable Paul Martin Sr. has been an enduring influence. He served
almost two dozen years in Liberal cabinets under four different prime ministers:
William Lyon Mackenzie King, Louis St. Laurent, Lester Pearson and Pierre
Trudeau. He was an influential cabinet minister and is regarded as an architect
of post-war social policy that is an enduring part of the Liberal legacy.
Paul studied philosophy and history at St. Michael’s College at the
University of Toronto and is a graduate of the University of Toronto Law School.
He was called to the bar in Ontario in 1966.
Before entering politics, he had a distinguished career in the private sector
as a business executive Power Corporation of Canada, in Montreal, and as
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canada Steamship Lines. In addition, he
has been active with a wide range of community and service organizations.
He married Sheila Ann Cowan in 1965. Their first son, Paul, was born in 1966.
Their second son, Jamie was born three years later and their youngest son,
David, was born in 1974.
|
