Paul Martineau
Encyclopedia
Paul Raymond Martineau, PC
, QC
, KCSG
(April 10, 1921 – March 19, 2010) was a Canadian
politician, lawyer, crown attorney
and judge.
The son of Alphonse Martineau and Lucienne Lemieux, Martineau grew up in the Quebec
portion of the Ottawa Valley
. He received a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1941 from the University of Ottawa
. He served for four years in the Royal Canadian Air Force
during World War II
, and was subsequently president of the Quebec branch of the Royal Canadian Legion
. After the war, he received a Bachelor of Civil Law
degree from the Université de Montréal
. He was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1949. A private practice lawyer from 1950 to 1980, he was a crown attorney from 1950 to 1958.
In 1946, he married Helene Neclaw.
He was defeated in the 1957 federal election
in his first attempt to win a seat in the Canadian House of Commons
, but was elected in the 1958 election
as the Progressive Conservative
Member of Parliament
for Pontiac—Témiscamingue
. Martineau served as parliamentary secretary
to Prime Minister
John Diefenbaker
from 1959 to 1961. He and then was Deputy Speaker
of the House until 1962, when he joined the Canadian Cabinet as Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys.
Martineau kept his seat in the 1963 election
that defeated the Diefenbaker government. Interestingly, this contest was the only one in Andre Blais' analysis of 4,626 constituency races in Canada's post-World War II
history to have an exact tie, with both Martineau and his challenger, Paul Oliva Goulet, receiving 6,448 votes. The tie was settled by the casting vote of the Returning Officer. In Opposition, he played a significant role in the Great Flag Debate
of 1964, when he broke with Diefenbaker in order to support the adoption of the Maple Leaf flag.
Journalist Peter C. Newman
described Martineau's intervention as "the best speech of the entire debate." http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flag/html/ch7p.htm
Matineau lost his seat in the 1965 election
and was also defeated in his attempt to regain his seat in 1968
.
From 1980 to 1996, he was a Justice on the Quebec Superior Court
.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, KCSG
Order of St. Gregory the Great
The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great , was established on September 1, 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election.It is one of the five orders of knighthood of the Holy See...
(April 10, 1921 – March 19, 2010) was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician, lawyer, crown attorney
Crown attorney
Crown Attorneys or Crown Counsel are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada.Crown Attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code of Canada...
and judge.
The son of Alphonse Martineau and Lucienne Lemieux, Martineau grew up in the Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
portion of the Ottawa Valley
Ottawa Valley
The Ottawa Valley is the valley along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec along the Ottawa River. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield...
. He received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1941 from the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
. He served for four years in the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and was subsequently president of the Quebec branch of the Royal Canadian Legion
Royal Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization founded in 1925, with more than 400,000 members worldwide. Membership includes people who have served as current and former military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, direct relatives of...
. After the war, he received a Bachelor of Civil Law
Bachelor of Civil Law
Bachelor of Civil Law is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. Historically, it originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but many universities now offer the BCL as an undergraduate degree...
degree from the Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
. He was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1949. A private practice lawyer from 1950 to 1980, he was a crown attorney from 1950 to 1958.
In 1946, he married Helene Neclaw.
He was defeated in the 1957 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1957
The Canadian federal election of 1957 was held June 10, 1957, to select the 265 members of the House of Commons of Canada. In one of the great upsets in Canadian political history, the Progressive Conservative Party , led by John Diefenbaker, brought an end to 22 years of Liberal rule, as the...
in his first attempt to win a seat in the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
, but was elected in the 1958 election
Canadian federal election, 1958
The Canadian federal election of 1958 was the 24th general election in Canada's history. It was held to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election...
as the Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Pontiac—Témiscamingue
Pontiac—Témiscamingue
Pontiac—Témiscamingue was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1949 to 1968.This riding was created in 1947 from Pontiac riding.It was defined to consist of:* the county of Pontiac;...
. Martineau served as parliamentary secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
to Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
from 1959 to 1961. He and then was Deputy Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the House until 1962, when he joined the Canadian Cabinet as Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys.
Martineau kept his seat in the 1963 election
Canadian federal election, 1963
The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...
that defeated the Diefenbaker government. Interestingly, this contest was the only one in Andre Blais' analysis of 4,626 constituency races in Canada's post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
history to have an exact tie, with both Martineau and his challenger, Paul Oliva Goulet, receiving 6,448 votes. The tie was settled by the casting vote of the Returning Officer. In Opposition, he played a significant role in the Great Flag Debate
Great Flag Debate
The Great Canadian Flag Debate took place in 1964 when a new design for the national flag of Canada was chosen. The flag debate began on June 15, 1964, when Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson proposed his plans for a new flag in the House of Commons. It lasted more than six months, bitterly...
of 1964, when he broke with Diefenbaker in order to support the adoption of the Maple Leaf flag.
- The new flag is the symbol of the future because it expresses unity, that unity to which so many of us have paid lip service during the course of this debate. I believe that in the maple leaf flag Canadians of whatever origin or background may find something in common. I believe this maple leaf flag will express for Canadians, in their own undemonstrative and taciturn way, the firm conviction that Canadians want to live together, work together, and build a worthwhile nation. If this distinctive flag can be accepted by the country without lasting bitterness and acrimony, then Canadians will have gone a long way to prove to the world that a nation such as ours, born in strife, diverse in its origins, speaking two languages and being the embodiment of two great cultures, can survive and prosper.... http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flag/html/ch7o.htm
Journalist Peter C. Newman
Peter C. Newman
Peter Charles Newman, CC, CD is a Canadian journalist and writer.Born in Vienna, Austria, Newman emigrated from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to Canada in 1940 as a Jewish refugee. His father, Oscar, was a self-made wealthy factory owner. Newman was educated at Upper Canada College, where he was...
described Martineau's intervention as "the best speech of the entire debate." http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flag/html/ch7p.htm
Matineau lost his seat in the 1965 election
Canadian federal election, 1965
The Canadian federal election of 1965 was held on November 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 27th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the House...
and was also defeated in his attempt to regain his seat in 1968
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
.
From 1980 to 1996, he was a Justice on the Quebec Superior Court
Quebec Superior Court
Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen...
.