Paul Martin

National bestseller Paul Martin was the Prime Minister we never really knew — in this memoir he emerges as a fascinating flesh and blood man, still working hard to make a better world. “The next thing you know, I was in a jail cell.” (Chapter 2) “From the moment I flipped his truck on the road home to Morinville…” (Chapter 3) “When I came back into Aquin’s headquarters I had a broken nose.” (Chapter 4) These are not lines that you expect in a prime ministerial memoir. But Paul Martin — who led the country from 2003 to 2006 — is full of surprises, and his book will reveal a very different man from the prime minister who had such a rough ride in the wake of the sponsorship scandal. Although he grew up in Windsor and Ottawa as the son of the legendary Cabinet Minister Paul Martin, politics was not in his blood. As a kid he loved sports, and had summer jobs as a deckhand or a roustabout. As a young man he plunged into family life, and into the business world. After his years as a “corporate firefighter” for Power Corporation came the excitement of acquiring Canada Steamship Lines in Canada’s largest ever leveraged buy-out, “the most audacious gamble of my life.” In 1988, however, he became a Liberal M.P., ran for the leadership in 1990 and in 1993 became Jean Chrétien’s minister of finance, with the country in a deep hole. The story of his years as perhaps our best finance minister ever leads to his account of the revolt against Chrétien, and his time in office. Great events and world figures stud this book, which is firm but polite as it sets the record straight, and is full of wry humour and self-deprecating stories. Far from ending with his defeat in 2006, the book deals with his continuing passions, such as Canada’s aboriginals and the problems of Africa. This is an idealistic, interesting book that reveals the Paul Martin we never knew. It’s a pleasure to meet him.

Bruce Little explains the CPP overhaul and shows why it stands as one of Canada's most significant public policy success stories, in part because it demanded an almost unparalleled degree of federal-provincial co-operation.

“I am not afraid to be called a politician,” declared Paul Martin Sr., defending his life’s work in politics. “Next to preaching the word of God, there is nothing nobler than to serve one’s fellow countrymen in government.” First elected to the House of Commons in 1935, Martin served in the cabinet of four prime ministers and ran for the Liberal Party leadership three times. This book examines his remarkable career as a liberal reformer and politician who tackled the issues of his day with consummate political skill and gritty determination. Cutting a broad swath through the history of twentieth-century Canada, Greg Donaghy uses extensive interviews and untapped archival sources to challenge the prevailing view of Martin as simply an ambitious Windsor ward heeler and party operator. Martin embraced a tolerant politics of compromise and accommodation that sought to unite Canadians in search of a more just and equitable world. Though some mocked his ambition and doubted his progressive politics, his resolute championing of health care and pension rights, new meanings for Canadian citizenship, and internationalism in world affairs would leave an indelible mark on Canada’s political landscape.

"Paul S. Martin's innovative ideas on late quaternary extinctions and wildlife restoration have fueled one of science's most stimulating recent debates. He expounds them vividly here, and defends them eloquently. A must-read."—David Rains Wallace, author of Beasts of Eden "This is a marvelous read, by a giant in American prehistory, about one of the greatest mysteries in the earth sciences."—Tim Flannery, author of The Eternal Frontier "Whether or not you agree with Paul Martin, he has shaped how we think about our Pleistocene ancestors and their role in transforming this planet."—Ross D. E. MacPhee, Curator of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History

The Fall of Paul Martin and the Rise of Stephen Harper’s New Conservatism. Shakespeare isn’t around to write it — so we have Paul Wells! Think of it. Two men on an opposite yet parallel trajectory. In the space of only three years, one man, a huge success as the Minister of Finance, goes from his new role as the leader of an all-powerful party with a huge majority all the way down to a retired also-ran. The other one reluctantly steps in to salvage a dying party, links it to another dying party, “unites the right,” becomes its leader, goes through trying times, and inside three years rises to become prime minister, against all odds. It’s an amazing drama, told here in three acts. First, Paul Wells takes us through all of the events (from Martin’s assassination of Chrétien onward) that led up to the election campaign of January 2006. The second act deals with the campaign itself, where the Harper armies conquered, with the assistance of an RCMP cavalry raid, and less-than-brilliant opposing campaigns: “We’re not allowed to make this stuff up.” Full of new, amazing inside details. The final part answers the What now? that so many Canadians are asking about Stephen Harper’s "new conservatism." Nobody can answer that question better than Paul Wells. Witty, irreverent, opinionated, personal, and very, very funny, this book launches Wells’s career as an author. From the Hardcover edition.

The first comprehensive psychological, social, and evangelical treatment of the growing and insidious cult problem. Martin provides evidence that our schools, families, and even our churches have facilitated the rise of cults and offers suggestions on how these institutions can develop cult education programs and assist in the healing of former members.

A clear and concise practical guide to the principles and methods of studies of behaviour.

Canadians have high hopes for Prime Minister Paul Martin, and widely welcome him as Liberal leader. But will he give Canada the government Canadians expect? In this book Murray Dobbin focuses on what Martin has done in business and in politics, and what he can be expected to do in office. What Dobbin reports is often surprising. Martin's actions reflect a man deeply committed to an agenda of less government, expansion of the private sector at the expense of public services, tax cuts favouring those already well off, and closer relations to the U.S. In many areas Martin's views seem closer to Brian Mulroney than those traditionally associated with the Liberal party. And he is often at odds with the values Canadians themselves express in opinion polls. A successful CEO himself, Martin thinks and acts as a CEO in his political role. For Canadians who want Ottawa to do more in health care, education, social services and culture, Martin's accession may mark a significant step backwards. Based on extensive research and interviews with key analysts, this book offers a different view of Paul Martin from the usual portrayals in the business-friendly news media, and from the other books on Martin being published in fall 2003. Rather than a play-by-play account of who did what to whom in Martin's political career, Murray Dobbin keeps his eye on what really matters to most people: what Paul Martin has done to date in business and politics, and what he is likely to do as prime minister.