Joseph James Guillaume Paul Martin (June 23, 1903 – September 14, 1992), often referred to as Paul Martin Sr., was a noted

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician and diplomat. He was the father of

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (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. The son o ...

, who served as 26th

prime minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

from 2003 to 2006.

Early life

Martin was born in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, the son of Lumina (née Chouinard) and Joseph Philippe Ernest Martin. His

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...

paternal grandfather's family immigrated from

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, and his mother and paternal grandmother were

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

with deep roots in the country. Martin contracted

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

in 1907, which left him permanently blind in one eye and with a severely weakened left arm. Martin was raised in

Pembroke, Ontario Pembroke is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario at the confluence of the Muskrat River (Ontario), Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley. Pembroke is the location of the administrative headquarters of Renfrew County, thoug ...

, in the Ottawa River Valley, although he attended high school at

Collège Saint-Alexandre Collège Saint-Alexandre is a private secondary school (high school) located in Gatineau, in the Outaouais region, in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on Rue Saint-Louis in the Gatineau sector in the Limbour neighbourhood. Once exc ...

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

, Quebec. He completed his university education at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, and earned his law degree from

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

. Later, Martin studied at the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumnus, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed hi ...

, Geneva, on a scholarship. Martin later opened a law practice in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

Politics

Member of Parliament

A member of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

, he was first elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in 1935 and entered the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

in 1945. He went on to serve as a noted member of the cabinets of four Prime Ministers:

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

, Louis St. Laurent,

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

and

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

. 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

and overseeing the creation of hospital insurance in Canada, and is sometimes recognized as a

father of medicare Several individuals have been described as the father of medicare in Canada. Medicare is the country's publicly funded health system. *Tommy Douglas championed public health insurance as Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and federal leade ...

. Martin served as

Secretary of State for External Affairs The Minister of Foreign Affairs (french: Ministre des Affaires étrangères) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the Government of Canada's international relations and is the lead minister respo ...

in the Pearson government, and was instrumental in the acquisition of U.S. nuclear weapons for Canadian Forces. Paul Martin with Mackenzie King

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 A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1968. He served as Leader of the Government in the Senate until 1974 when he was appointed High Commissioner to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He also served as Chancellor of

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

from 1972 to 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 , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universit ...

. His two volume memoirs, ''A Very Public Life'', was published in 1983 () and 1986 ( ).

Honours

In 1976 he was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. In recognition of his accomplishments, Martin was granted the right to use the

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

in 1992, a rare honour for one who has never been Prime Minister,

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Chief Justice of Canada The chief justice of Canada (french: juge en chef du Canada) is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada. As such, the chief justice is the highest-ranking judge of the Canadian court sy ...

. He died on September 14, at the age of eighty-nine. The

has a Paul Martin Chair in law and political science, recently held by former Manitoba Premier

Howard Pawley Howard Russell Pawley (November 21, 1934 – December 30, 2015) was a Canadian politician and professor who was the 18th premier of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988. Prior to his premiership, Pawley served in various ministerial positions after his t ...

(until his retirement from the university), and the Paul Martin Law Library. The City of Windsor had also renamed their "Post Office Building" the

Paul Martin Sr. Building The Paul Martin Sr. Building is a 6-storey Art deco low-rise office building in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, located on the west side of Ouellette Avenue between Chatham Street and Pitt Streets. Building The building, originally known as the Domin ...

in his honour on November 18, 1994.

Honorary Degrees

Electoral record

;Essex East

References

External links

* *
A retiring Paul Martin gives a CBC Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Paul Sr. 1903 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Canadian lawyers Canadian memoirists Canadian Roman Catholics Canadian Secretaries of State for External Affairs Canadian senators from Ontario Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian university and college chancellors Companions of the Order of Canada Franco-Ontarian people Lawyers in Ontario Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidates Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Paul Sr. Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Ottawa Politicians from Windsor, Ontario Writers from Ottawa Writers from Windsor, Ontario University of Toronto alumni Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni University of Windsor faculty High Commissioners of Canada to the United Kingdom People with polio Canadian politicians with disabilities Parents of prime ministers of Canada 20th-century memoirists