CanadaWho is Paul Martin?
Paul Martin is a former Canadian prime minister, born in 1938 in Windsor, Ontario, the son of the Liberal cabinet minister Paul Martin Sr. He became a lawyer and then president and chief executive of Canada Steamship Lines in 1973. He was elected MP for LaSalle-Émard in Montreal in 1988 and served as Jean Chrétien's finance minister from 1993 to 2002. He became prime minister in December 2003, won a minority in 2004 and lost the 2006 election. He has since worked on development and Indigenous education initiatives and holds no public office.
Political views
As finance minister, eliminated the federal deficit by sharply cutting spending and reforming programs, and led a major restructuring of the Canada Pension Plan.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPromoted the creation of the G20 of finance ministers and central bankers and served as its first chair.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPassed the Civil Marriage Act in 2005, defining marriage as the union of two persons while protecting religious officials who refuse to perform it.
Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.caSigned the Kelowna Accord with provinces and Indigenous leaders to close gaps in health, education, housing and economic opportunity.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgReached a 2004 agreement with the provinces on increased health care funding.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgCriticised the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, drawing a public rebuke from the US ambassador in December 2005.
Source: cbc.caHis government told Parliament in February 2005 that Canada would not take part in the US national missile defence program.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAppointed the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal that had begun under his predecessor.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Legacy
Admirers see Martin as the finance minister who rescued Canada from a looming debt crisis, producing a run of surpluses and restoring the country's AAA credit rating, and as a prime minister who advanced same-sex marriage and Indigenous reconciliation. He remains active in global development and Indigenous education. Critics argue that his deficit cuts came at the expense of provincial health and social services, and The Economist's correspondent reported he was being called 'Mr. Dithers' in Ottawa for indecision. His minority government was weakened by the sponsorship scandal and the Gomery inquiry he had called himself, and it fell to a no-confidence vote in 2005. Some economists argued the deficit could have been eliminated through spending restraint and growth without the cuts to services.