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Tony Martin (politician)
Encyclopedia
Anthony A. "Tony" Martin (born August 31, 1948 in Drogheda
, County Louth
, Ireland
) is a Canadian
politician
. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
from 1990 to 2003, representing the riding
of Sault Ste. Marie
for the Ontario New Democratic Party
(NDP). He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons
for the federal NDP
in 2004, again representing the Sault Ste. Marie riding.
Martin was raised in Wawa
, Ontario
, and received a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Laurentian University
in 1974. Later in the same year, he received a Diploma in Recreational Leadership from Confederation College
.
. He was the founder of the Sault Ste. Marie Soup Kitchen, and was for some time the owner and General Manager of Transcend Homes, a local workers' cooperative. A devout Roman Catholic, Martin also served as a trustee on the Northern District Catholic School Board, and was a pastoral assistant at the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Sault Ste. Marie from 1981 to 1990.
after Karl Morin-Strom
, the sitting Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Sault Ste. Marie, announced his retirement. He faced a difficult challenge in retaining the seat for his party. The Ontario Liberal Party
ran a strong candidate in Don MacGregor while the upstart anti-bilingualism Confederation of Regions Party
made strong inroads into the riding's anglophone/working-class base, which traditionally votes NDP. Martin ultimately won the seat by only 697 votes over MacGregor, after a late drive from the city's unions. Elsewhere in the province, the NDP won several historical breakthroughs and formed government for the first time in its history.
Martin was not appointed to the cabinet
of Bob Rae
, and served as a government backbencher for the next five years. The Rae government provided significant financial support to Algoma Steel
in Sault Ste. Marie during the early 1990s, which contributed to Martin retaining the riding in the 1995 election
with an increased majority, even as the NDP suffered major losses in most parts of the province. Martin defeated Carmen Provenzano
of the Liberal Party by almost 4,000 votes, and so became one of only seventeen New Democrats to return to the legislature.
Martin again retained his seat in the 1999 election
, and was appointed as one of the legislature's Deputy Speaker
s on October 25, 1999. He dramatically resigned from this position on December 19, 2000, to protest the Mike Harris
government's inactivity on poverty issues. Following this, he chaired a series of "People's Parliament on Poverty" meetings. In 2002-03, Martin supported Bill Blaikie
's campaign to lead the federal NDP.
, but a late surge in Liberal support saw David Orazietti
win the seat by a significant margin. Shortly after the loss, Martin was nominated as the federal NDP's candidate for the general election of 2004
.
Sault Ste. Marie's vulnerable industrial economy and strong union
base and the NDP's populist
strength in Northern Ontario
made the riding a prime target for the party. Martin won by almost 1,000 votes, once again defeating incumbent Liberal
Carmen Provenzano, who had taken the seat in the 1997 election
. Martin was re-elected in the 2006 campaign
, as the NDP increased its representation from 19 seats to 29.
In the NDP's shadow cabinet
, Martin was critic for Social Policy, Childcare, Human Resources and Skills Development and the FedNor agency. Martin was defeated by Conservative candidate Bryan Hayes
in the 2011 federal election.
Tony Martin is married to Anna Celetti. They have four children.
Drogheda
Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....
, County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
) is 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
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
from 1990 to 2003, representing the riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie (electoral district)
Sault Ste. Marie is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.In 2004, due to population changes in boundary distribution, the riding expanded significantly to include a significant portion of the Algoma District, from...
for the Ontario New Democratic Party
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
(NDP). He was elected to 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...
for the federal NDP
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
in 2004, again representing the Sault Ste. Marie riding.
Martin was raised in Wawa
Wawa, Ontario
Wawa is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the Algoma District. Formerly known as the township of Michipicoten, the township was officially renamed for its largest and best-known community in 2009....
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and 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 from Laurentian University
Laurentian University
Laurentian University , was incorporated on March 28, 1960, is a mid-sized bilingual university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada....
in 1974. Later in the same year, he received a Diploma in Recreational Leadership from Confederation College
Confederation College
Confederation College is a provincially funded college of applied arts and technology located in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1967, and has area campuses in Dryden, Fort Frances, Geraldton, Kenora, Marathon, Sioux Lookout, Red Lake and Wawa. The college, with its area...
.
Politics
Martin entered politics through social work, helping the homeless, drug addicts and the mentally disabled through a variety of programs in Wawa, Elliot Lake and Sault Ste. MarieSault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
. He was the founder of the Sault Ste. Marie Soup Kitchen, and was for some time the owner and General Manager of Transcend Homes, a local workers' cooperative. A devout Roman Catholic, Martin also served as a trustee on the Northern District Catholic School Board, and was a pastoral assistant at the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Sault Ste. Marie from 1981 to 1990.
Provincial politics
Martin first ran for the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1990Ontario general election, 1990
The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....
after Karl Morin-Strom
Karl Morin-Strom
Karl Arvid Morin-Strom is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1990 as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, the sitting Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Sault Ste. Marie, announced his retirement. He faced a difficult challenge in retaining the seat for his party. The Ontario Liberal Party
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
ran a strong candidate in Don MacGregor while the upstart anti-bilingualism Confederation of Regions Party
Ontario Provincial Confederation of Regions Party
The Ontario Provincial Confederation of Regions Party is a minor political party in Ontario, Canada, the provincial branch of the now-defunct Confederation of Regions Party of Canada...
made strong inroads into the riding's anglophone/working-class base, which traditionally votes NDP. Martin ultimately won the seat by only 697 votes over MacGregor, after a late drive from the city's unions. Elsewhere in the province, the NDP won several historical breakthroughs and formed government for the first time in its history.
Martin was not appointed to the cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
of Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, and served as a government backbencher for the next five years. The Rae government provided significant financial support to Algoma Steel
Algoma Steel
See also Algoma Essar Steel Algoma is an integrated primary steel producer located on the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Its products are sold in Canada and the United States as well as overseas. Algoma Steel was founded in 1902 by Francis Clergue, an American entrepreneur...
in Sault Ste. Marie during the early 1990s, which contributed to Martin retaining the riding in the 1995 election
Ontario general election, 1995
The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...
with an increased majority, even as the NDP suffered major losses in most parts of the province. Martin defeated Carmen Provenzano
Carmen Provenzano
Carmen Provenzano was a Canadian politician. He represented the Sault Ste. Marie electoral district in the Canadian House of Commons from 1997 to 2004. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada....
of the Liberal Party by almost 4,000 votes, and so became one of only seventeen New Democrats to return to the legislature.
Martin again retained his seat in the 1999 election
Ontario general election, 1999
An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, and was appointed as one of the legislature's 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...
s on October 25, 1999. He dramatically resigned from this position on December 19, 2000, to protest the Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
government's inactivity on poverty issues. Following this, he chaired a series of "People's Parliament on Poverty" meetings. In 2002-03, Martin supported Bill Blaikie
Bill Blaikie
William Alexander "Bill" Blaikie, PC is a Canadian politician. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba since April 2009, representing the Winnipeg division of Elmwood as a member of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, and Minister of Conservation and Government House Leader...
's campaign to lead the federal NDP.
Federal politics
Martin was initially expected to be re-elected in the 2003 provincial electionOntario general election, 2003
The Ontario general election of 2003 was held on October 2, 2003, to elect the 103 members of the 38th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, but a late surge in Liberal support saw David Orazietti
David Orazietti
David Michael Orazietti is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Sault Ste. Marie for the Ontario Liberal Party.-Background:...
win the seat by a significant margin. Shortly after the loss, Martin was nominated as the federal NDP's candidate for the general election of 2004
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
.
Sault Ste. Marie's vulnerable industrial economy and strong union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
base and the NDP's populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
strength in Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...
made the riding a prime target for the party. Martin won by almost 1,000 votes, once again defeating incumbent Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Carmen Provenzano, who had taken the seat in the 1997 election
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
. Martin was re-elected in the 2006 campaign
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, as the NDP increased its representation from 19 seats to 29.
In the NDP's shadow cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
, Martin was critic for Social Policy, Childcare, Human Resources and Skills Development and the FedNor agency. Martin was defeated by Conservative candidate Bryan Hayes
Bryan Hayes
Bryan Hayes is a Canadian politician. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the federal Conservative Party of Canada in the 2011 election, representing the Sault Ste. Marie riding.-Background:...
in the 2011 federal election.
Tony Martin is married to Anna Celetti. They have four children.