William Melville Martin

William Melville Martin (August 23, 1876 – June 22, 1970) served as the second premier of Saskatchewan from 1916 to 1922. In 1916, although not a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Martin was elected leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party, succeeding Premier Walter Scott and thus became Premier of Saskatchewan.

Prior to entering provincial politics, Martin had been a member of the federal Parliament for two terms, as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.

On his retirement from politics, he was appointed to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, serving first as a puisne justice and then as Chief Justice of Saskatchewan.

Early life

Martin was born in Norwich, Ontario. In 1898, he earned an honours degree in Classics from the University of Toronto, and then a Teacher Certificate from the Ontario School of Pedagogy. After teaching for two years, he attended Osgoode Hall Law School and qualified as a lawyer.

In 1903, he moved to Regina and joined the law firm of his cousin, James Balfour. The Balfour and Martin families had been active in Liberal politics in Ontario, and the Balfour law firm was similarly active in Liberal politics in Saskatchewan. The government was also involved in a bitter dispute over funding for separate schools. Martin, as an outsider to provincial politics, was recruited by the provincial Liberals to help distance them from allegations of corruption and to respond to the school funding issue.

To deal with the school issue, Martin himself took the education portfolio. He was the Minister of Education for most of his time as premier. He was also the Minister of Railways and the Minister of Telephones and Telegraphs, reflecting the importance of infrastructure developments in the young province.

Martin brought farmers' advocate Charles A. Dunning into the cabinet in an attempt to revitalise the Liberals and maintain support from farmers, appointing him to the important position of Provincial Treasurer, a position Dunning was to hold for almost ten years. Martin also instituted reforms to clean up the government. These changes were successful in cleansing the government's image, and Martin led the government to re-election in the 1917 election, winning 51 of 59 seats.

That same year, there was a federal election which was fought largely on the issue of conscription to raise troops for the Canadian army fighting in France. Many federal Liberals joined in a coalition with the federal Conservatives to form a Union government. Martin supported those Liberals who joined the Union government. He also recruited another farm leader into the government, federal Progressive MP John Archibald Maharg. Like Dunning, Maharg had strong roots in the farm co-operative community. He was the president of both the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association and the Saskatchewan Co-operative Elevator Company. Maharg agreed to support the government, but as an independent member, not as a Liberal. With these strong farm representatives supporting his government, Martin and the Liberals kept farm support and were able to resist the Progressive challenge in the 1921 election. The Martin government was returned to power, although with a reduced majority of 46 Liberals in the 63 seat Assembly. Martin kept Dunning on as Provincial Treasurer and appointed Maharg as Minister of Agriculture,

Maharg's resignation, the threat that the Grain Growers would start a farmer party, and the issue of supporting the federal Liberals, all led to a political crisis within the provincial Liberal party. Martin lost support and eventually resigned in 1922, at the age of 46.

After Lyman Duff, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada retired in 1944, Minister of Agriculture James Garfield Gardiner put Martin forward as a possible appointee to the Court. Gardiner also proposed Thomas Clayton Davis and James Wilfred Estey, who was ultimately appointed to fill the vacancy created by Duff's retirement.

While on the Court of Appeal, he also served as a commissioner on the Royal Commission on Reconveyance of Land to British Columbia, which contributed to the re-transfer of the Railway Belt and Peace River Block from the federal government to the province of British Columbia.

Legacy Martin Collegiate, a high school in Regina, is named in his honour.

Electoral record

Martin ranks tenth out of the fifteen premiers of Saskatchewan for time in office. He served one continuous term, from October 20, 1916, to April 5, 1922, and was in office for . He was elected three times to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. Prior to entering provincial politics, Martin was elected twice to the federal House of Commons, serving for . Three additional members were elected: one from Saskatchewanians serving in Great Britain, one from Saskatchewanians serving in France, and one from Saskatchewanians serving in Belgium, for a total of 62 members in the 4th Legislative Assembly.

1921 General election

In 1921, Martin led the Liberals into a second general election and again won a majority government, albeit with a smaller share of the popular vote and a reduction in the number of seats in the Assembly. The political opponents of the government fractured badly, leading to Saskatchewan's first major multi-party election. The Conservative Party entered the election without a formal leader, as the previous leader, Donald Maclean, had accepted a federal judicial appointment just two months before the election.

1 Premier when election was called; Premier after the election.

Saskatchewan constituency elections, 1916 to 1921

Martin stood for election to the Legislative Assembly three times, once in a by-election and in two general elections, all in the riding of Regina City. He was acclaimed in the by-election, and won the next two elections, which were contested.

1916 By-election: Regina City

+ Provincial By-Election, November 13, 1916: Regina CityPartyCandidatePopular Vote % E William Melville Martin Acclaimed –Total – –Source: Saskatchewan Archives – Election Results by Electoral Division

E Elected.

1911 General election: Regina + Federal Election, 1911: Regina, SaskatchewanPartyCandidatePopular Vote % Liberal E X William Melville Martin5,811 54.63% Conservative Walter Davy Cowan 4,081 38.37%Independent Richard Fletcher 745 7.00%Total10,637 100.00%Source: Library of Parliament

E Elected. X Incumbent.