The Right Honourable Paul Martin was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony on Friday, June 14, “in recognition of his leadership in the Canadian government.”
Martin was prime minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006 and finance minister from 1993 to 2002, where he erased Canada’s deficit and recorded five consecutive budget surpluses while paying down the national debt and setting Canada’s debt-to GDP ratio on a steady downward track.
Before entering politics, Martin had a long career in the private sector. He graduated from the University of Toronto’s St. Michael’s College and Faculty of Law. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1966.
In 1999, as co-founder, he served as inaugural chair for three years of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors.
As prime minister, Martin set in place a plan to improve health care and reduce wait times. He also signed agreements with the provinces and territories to establish the first national early learning and child care program.
Under Martin’s leadership, the federal government reached a historic consensus with the 2006 Kelowna Accord to eliminate funding gaps in health, education and housing after an 18-month consultation process involving Canada’s provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples, Métis Nation and Inuit leaders. After leaving public life, Martin advised the African Development Bank and has worked closely with the Advisory Council of the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa. He was also a founding co-chair of the Congo Basin Forest Fund and a Commissioner for the Global Ocean Commission. In 2009, Martin joined members of his family to create the Martin Family Initiative. Its mission is to walk alongside Indigenous experts, communities and leaders to ensure that opportunities for Indigenous children are abundant and culturally appropriate. In 2012, he was appointed Companion to the Order of Canada. He is married to Sheila Ann Cowan and they have three sons and five grandchildren.