Joseph Martin (Canadian politician)
Joseph Martin | |
---|---|
13th Premier of British Columbia | |
In office February 28, 1900 – June 14, 1900 | |
Monarch | Victoria |
Lieutenant Governor | Thomas Robert McInnes |
Preceded by | Charles Semlin[1] |
Succeeded by | James Dunsmuir |
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Portage la Prairie | |
In office January 23, 1883 – July 23, 1892 | |
Preceded by | James Cowan |
Succeeded by | Robert Watson |
Member of Parliament for Winnipeg | |
In office November 2, 1893 – June 23, 1896 | |
Preceded by | Hugh John Macdonald |
Succeeded by | Hugh John Macdonald |
MLA for Vancouver City | |
In office July 9, 1898 – October 3, 1903 | |
Preceded by | Adolphus Williams |
Succeeded by | William John Bowser |
Member of Parliament for St Pancras East | |
In office January 17, 1910 – December 14, 1918 | |
Preceded by | Hugh Lea |
Succeeded by | constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | British Columbia Liberal Party | September 24, 1852
Spouse | Eliza Eaton |
Children | Irma Livingstone Eaton |
Joseph Martin (September 24, 1852 – March 2, 1923) was a lawyer and politician in
Early life
Born in
Political career
Manitoba
He was first elected as the member of the
Canada
Martin ran unsuccessfully as a
British Columbia
After his defeat in Manitoba, Martin[3] left for British Columbia to settle in Vancouver. He arrived at a time of booming prosperity. He took up the practice of law and made a fortune developing the Hastings Manor subdivision in Vancouver.[4]
Martin was first elected to the
During the two year Semlin government, Martin produced controversy by introducing measures such as an eight-hour work day (opposed by mine owners) and an Alien Exclusion Act to prevent Chinese from owning mining claims. The federal government, at the instance of American interests, took steps to disallow the legislation. During a controversial public meeting about the issue, Martin breached cabinet solidarity and criticized his own government resulting in a request from Premier Semlin for Martin's resignation. Semlin reconstituted his ministries and met the legislature facing strong opposition from Martin, often requiring the Speaker of the house to break ties by using his casting vote. On February 27, 1900 McInnes dismissed Semlin and, the following day, asked Martin to form a government. The result was a vote of non-confidence by the house which carried by a majority of 28 to 1. Nevertheless, Martin formed a cabinet and governed for three months before going to the polls in the 1900 election. Although hard fought, Martin had only 13 supporters elected. The Semlin faction had even fewer at 6 and Semlin was defeated personally. Following the election, Prime Minister Laurier dismissed McInnes and appointed Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière lieutenant-governor. The legislature was able to agree to support James Dunsmuir to lead a government. Martin served in the opposition (He became the first leader of the Liberal party of British Columbia)[5] until he was defeated in the 1903 election, the first in British Columbia organized on party lines.
In 1907, he founded the Vancouver Guardian newspaper. After his return from England, he ran in the 1920 election in Vancouver as an Independent under the banner of the Asiatic Exclusion League. He was defeated and lost his deposit.
Martin, who died of complications from diabetes in March 1923, was the first person in Vancouver to be treated with insulin.[6]
United Kingdom
He moved to the
. He served from 1910 until 1918.In December 1911, Winston Churchill, then the First Lord of the Admiralty, had announced to the House of Commons that the British fleet was ready for war. Martin fiercely attacked the Admiralty over the grounding of the warship Niobe "only to be completely and unceremoniously silenced by a biting answer from the First Lord."[7]
The St Pancras East Liberal Association and Martin had a difficult relationship. By 1914 the association did not want Martin to continue as their MP and in May selected
Relations between Martin and his local Liberal association continued to be uncertain. Finally he crossed the floor to join the Labour Party. In early 1918 he was selected to run as Labour candidate in neighbouring Islington South. However, by close of nominations, there was no Labour candidate nominated.
Martin was also a candidate for mayor of Vancouver in 1914 and founded another newspaper there in 1916.
Sources
- Margaret A. Ormsby (1958). British Columbia: A History. MacMillan: Vancouver.
- James Morton (1974). In the Sea of Sterile Mountains: The Chinese in British Columbia. J.J. Douglas: Vancouver.
References
- ^ "Biography – MARTIN, JOSEPH". Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
- ^ William Cochrane, ed. (1894). The Canadian album: men of Canada, Volume III (PDF). Brantford, Ontario: Bradley, Garretson & Co. pp. 30.
- ^ Ormsby, 320–325
- )
- ^ "Biographie – MARTIN, JOSEPH – Volume XV (1921-1930) – Dictionnaire biographique du Canada".
- ^ Morton, 240
- ^ Morton, 220–222
- ^ Shoreditch Observer 2 May 1914
- ^ "News in Brief." The Times [London, England] 1 June 1914: 6. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 29 May 2016.
- ^ Liverpool Echo 6 Jul 1914
External links
- Joseph Martin – Parliament of Canada biography
- Canadian Encyclopedia
- "Joseph Martin". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
- When 'Fisticuffs Ensued' in BC's Legislature, Tom Barrett, The Tyee, May 9, 2013