In opposition, Mr. Martin served as critic for a variety of economic and social portfolios. Most recently, he was Critic for the Environment and Associate Finance Critic. Previously he had been Critic for the Treasury Board and for Urban Development. His other responsibilities included chairing the Liberal Caucus Committee on Sustainable Development and heading a Liberal Task Force on Housing issues.

As a Co-chair of the National Platform Committee of the Liberal Party of Canada, Mr. Martin played a key role in the formulation and development of the Liberal platform for the 1993 federal election.

Mr. Martin was sworn in as Minister of Finance on November 4, 1993.

Born in Windsor, Ontario in 1938, Mr. Martin, was educated at the universities of Ottawa and Toronto, where he graduated with an Honours Degree in Philosophy. A graduate of the University of Toronto Law School, Mr. Martin was called to the Ontario Bar in 1966. Prior to this, he had worked in the legal branch of the European Coal and Steel Community. The greater part of Mr. Martin's career in the private sector was as a business executive, first with Power Corporation of Canada, in Montreal, and later as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canada Steamship Lines. He also served as a corporate director for seven major Canadian companies. Mr. Martin's experience of the shipping industry was not confined to the boardroom: As a young man he worked as a merchant seaman on the Mackenzie River, in the high Arctic and on the Atlantic Ocean. He has also worked in the Alberta oil patch.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Mr. Martin has been active with a wide range of community and service organizations. He has served as a member of the Board of Advisors for the School of Community and Public Affairs at Concordia University; Amnesty international and the Centre for Research and Action on Race Relations; the Advisory Board of the Canadian Centre for Arms Control. He is a member of the Club Optimiste desRapides, LaSalle. He is also a Founding Director (Emeritus) of the North-South institute and the Canadian Council for Native Business.

Married to Sheila Ann (nee Cowan), the Martins have three sons: Paul, Jamie and David.