Martin, Paul Edgar Philippe, Jr (1938– )

Canadian Liberal Party politician, prime minister from 2003. He was finance minister 1993–2002 in the government of Jean Chrétien. Popular within the party and country at large, he was elected party leader by a landslide margin in November 2003 and became prime minister a month later. His government faced a right-wing political opposition that was more united than for many years.

Born in Windsor, Ontario, Martin studied history at the University of Toronto and then trained in law; he was called to the Ontario bar in 1966. From 1974 he became a successful industrialist, as president of Canada Steamship Lines. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons, as a Liberal representing the Montreal La Salle-Émard constituency in Quebec, in 1988. In 1993, in the new Liberal government headed by Chrétien, he was finance minister and regional development minister (until 1996). At this time Canada was near financial crisis, with a large public deficit. Martin instigated drastic cuts in federal government spending, which achieved deficit-free budgets 1997–2002 and gave the Liberals a new reputation for fiscal responsibility.