Education
Born to Salomon Martin, a carpenter and Virginie Lafleur, Martin studied at Saint Eustache College and went on to open a cigar store in Montreal"s East End and soon became a populist politician, best known for stirring up suspicion against English Montreal residents.
Career
Beter known as a city politician, he was elected to the City Council in 1906 and represented the Papineau Ward. He was re-elected in 1908 but was defeated in 1910. He was elected again in 1912.
In 1914 Martin was elected He was re-elected in 1916, 1918 and 1921, but lost against Charles Duquette in 1924.
He was re-elected again in 1926, but was defeated by bitter rival Camillien Houde in 1928. His 12 years as mayor of Montreal made him, at the time, the city"s longest-serving mayor.
Martin oversaw the city during a period when several other adjacent municipalities were merged, including Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and much of the predominantly French speaking east side. He considered Montreal"s new French-demographic dominance to be justification for discontinuing the longstanding tradition of alternating mayors between English and French speakers, a practice that has never returned.
Martin was appointed to the Legislative Council of Quebec in 1919 and represented the district of Alma.
Membership
He served as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Sainte-Marie in the city"s east side from 1906 to 1917.