Who was Paul Martin?
Answer
Canada's 21st Prime Minister (2003 to 2006), a Liberal who established the Kelowna Accord with Indigenous nations and the federal Civil Marriage Act of 2005.
Explanation
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938) was Canada's 21st Prime Minister, serving from December 12, 2003 to February 6, 2006. Martin was a Liberal and led the Liberal Party from November 14, 2003 to March 18, 2006. Before becoming Prime Minister, he served as Finance Minister under Jean Chrétien from 1993 to 2002, during which he balanced the federal Budget for the first time since 1969.
Martin was born in Windsor, Ontario, the son of Paul Martin Sr. (a long-serving Liberal Cabinet minister under Mackenzie King, St. Laurent, and Pearson). Paul Martin Jr. trained as a lawyer and built his fortune as CEO of Canada Steamship Lines (the largest shipping company on the Great Lakes) before entering politics in 1988 from Montreal's LaSalle-Émard.
Martin's brief tenure produced two major Indigenous rights initiatives. The Kelowna Accord, signed November 25, 2005 between the federal government, the provinces, and the five Indigenous national organisations, committed $5 billion over 10 years to address gaps in Indigenous health, education, housing, water, and economic development. The Conservative government of Stephen Harper formally repudiated the Kelowna Accord after taking office in February 2006, though many of its commitments were later implemented in modified form.
Martin's government also passed the Civil Marriage Act (in force July 20, 2005), making Canada the fourth country in the world (after the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain) to legalise same-sex marriage nationally. The Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness was created in 2003. The 2005 federal Budget balanced after the 2002 Romanow Commission on the Future of Health Care commitments. Martin's minority government fell on November 28, 2005 after losing a non-confidence vote on the sponsorship scandal (involving payments to Quebec advertising firms from a federal national-unity programme between 1996 and 2002, exposed by Auditor General Sheila Fraser in 2004 and the Gomery Commission of 2004 to 2005). The January 23, 2006 federal election produced a Stephen Harper Conservative minority. Martin retired from politics on March 18, 2006 and has since focused on Indigenous education and global development.
Why this matters for your test
Paul Martin's brief tenure produced major Indigenous and same-sex marriage policy. Recognising the 2005 Kelowna Accord and the Civil Marriage Act of 2005 gives candidates two specific anchors.
Source: Library and Archives Canada; Office of the Prime Minister
