Paul Martin was one of two children born to Paul and Eleanor 'Nelly' Martin in Windsor, Ontario. Martin's father was an MP and served in the cabinet of four prime ministers.
Paul Martin Jr. earned a law degree from the University of Toronto and eschewed law for a career in business. By the age of 32 Martin was executive assistant to Maurice Strong, then the CEO of Power Corporation, and after only two years was promoted to president and CEO of Canada Steamship Lines, a company whose fortunes he turned around dramatically and eventually came to own.
In 1988, Martin decided to pursue his political aspirations and won the Montreal riding of LaSalle-Émard. After the Chrétien Liberals were swept into power in 1993, Martin was appointed to cabinet as finance minister and remained with that portfolio until 2002, when the simmering feud with the prime minister came to a head. Martin left cabinet and a year later, after Chrétien stepped down, was elected leader and prime minister of Canada.
Martin won only a minority in the general election of 2004. Despite his negotiation of a decade-long health accord with the provinces, and an ambitious aboriginal plan known as the Kelowna Accord, Martin failed to reach the promise expected of him. He was defeated by Stephen Harper's Conservatives in 2006. He stepped down as leader and now works as a consultant and on his own foundation, the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative.
Catherine Clark spoke to Martin about his life Beyond Politics.
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