Paul Martin

Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (French: [pɔl maʁtɛ̃]; born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired 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 of former senator and secretary of state for external affairs Paul Martin Sr., Martin was born in Windsor, Ontario and was a lawyer from Ontario before he became president and the chief executive officer of Canada Steamship Lines in 1973. He held that position until his election as a member of Parliament for the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard in 1988. Martin ran for leader of the Liberal Party in 1990, losing to Jean Chrétien. Martin became Chrétien's longtime rival for the leadership of the party, though he was appointed as minister of finance after the Liberal victory in the 1993 federal election. As minister, Martin oversaw many changes in the financial structure of the Canadian government, and his policies had a direct effect on eliminating the country's chronic fiscal deficit by sharply cutting spending and reforming programs. In 2002, he was removed as finance minister as tensions with Chrétien reached their peak. Martin initially prepared to challenge Chrétien's leadership, but when Chrétien announced his intention of retiring, Martin entered the 2003 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election. Martin won the leadership in a landslide, and was sworn in as prime minister that December.

Martin led the Liberal Party in the 2004 federal election, in which the party retained power as a minority government, losing its majority due to the sponsorship scandal that began to develop in the late 1990s. After the election, Martin's government signed the Kelowna Accord to improve the living conditions of Indigenous peoples and legalized same-sex marriage through the Civil Marriage Act. In 2005, the opposition parties in the House of Commons passed a motion of no confidence contending that his government was corrupt after the Gomery Commission released new details about the sponsorship scandal, which triggered the 2006 federal election. In that election, Martin's Liberals were defeated by the newly unified Conservative Party led by Stephen Harper, ending over 12 years of Liberal rule.