Paul Martin, Sr

His illustrious son Paul Martin Jr. was born in 1938 and served as the Prime Minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006.

He died on September 14, 1992 at the age of 89.

Paul Martin was born on 23 June 1903 to Lumina and Joseph Philippe Ernest Martin in Ottawa, Ontario. In 1907, he contracted polio.

He attended Coll�ge Saint-Alexandre in Gatineau, Quebec and later enrolled at the University of Toronto. He obtained his degree in law from Osgoode Hall Law School. He also attended the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.

Paul Martin was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. In 1935, he won a seat in the House of Commons for the first time. However, it was only in 1945 that he entered the cabinet.

In 1946, he was made Minister of National Health and Welfare. During this time, he ensured that comprehensive steps were taken for the prevention of polio in Canada.

In 1948, he introduced a a federal system of health grants to support general public health services, tuberculosis and venereal disease control, mental health care, cancer control, prevention and control of crippling conditions in children, professional training, public health research and hospital construction.

In 1948, he contested for the Liberal leadership for the first time, but did not succeed. Later on, he also ran for Liberal leadership in 1958 and 1963 but lost both the times.

He played an important role in passing the 1957 Hospital Insurance and Diagnostic Services Act, according to which provinces that satisfied certain criteria were given federal funding for health care.

During his tenure, he introduced the system of health grants which formed the basis of a more inclusive health insurance plan for the entire country.

Despite objections, Martin introduced the universal vaccination program in Canada to wipe out the threat of the infectious diseases from the country.