Médéric Martin

The Honourable Médéric Martin
32nd Mayor of Montreal
In office 1914–1924
Preceded by	Louis-Arsène Lavallée
Succeeded by	Charles Duquette
Constituency	Papineau
In office 1926–1928
Preceded by	Charles Duquette
Succeeded by	Camillien Houde
Member of the Canada Parliament for St. Mary
In office 1906–1917
Preceded by	Camille Piché
Succeeded by	Hermas Deslauriers
Member of the Legislative Council of Quebec for Alma
In office 1919–1946
Preceded by	Trefflé Berthiaume
Succeeded by	Joseph-Olier Renaud
Personal details
Born	22 January 1869 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	12 June 1946(1946-06-12) (aged 77) Laval, Quebec, Canada
Political party	Liberal Party of Canada
Profession	industrialist

Médéric Martin (22 January 1869 – 12 June 1946) was a Canadian politician and long-time Mayor of Montreal.

Background

Born to Salomon Martin, a carpenter and Virginie Lafleur, Martin studied at St. 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.

Member of the House of Commons

He served as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Sainte-Marie in the city's east side from 1906 to 1917.

City Councillor

Better 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.

Mayor of Montreal

In 1914 Martin was elected Mayor of Montreal. 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.

Legislative Councillor

Martin was appointed to the Legislative Council of Quebec in 1919 and represented the district of Alma.

After his death in 1946, he was entombed at the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.

References

• Bilan du Siècle - Médéric Martin (1869-1946) Homme politique at bilan.usherbrooke.ca (in French)
• "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
• Médéric Martin – Parliament of Canada biography