After the resignation of Saskatchewan’s first premier, a new man took the top job, William Melville Martin.
Martin was born in Norwich, Ontario on Aug. 23, 1876. As a child, he was educated at Exeter Public School and Clinton Collegiate.
When he went off to university, he became a star on the football and lacrosse team. He also took a great deal of interest in university politics.
The Windsor Star wrote of that time,
“When he was playing the game of politics back in the Varsity days he was a great fighter, a master of finesse, but though he tricked his opponents time and again, he always played fair.”
After earning a degree in Classics from the University of Toronto, he obtained a Teacher Certificate and taught at various Ontario schools for the next two years. The Windsor Star wrote several years later of this time,
“Three nights a week and for two years running, Bill Martin as he was known to his cronies of that day, used to slip away quietly from the frat house where he boarded and put in the evening trying to instil the elements of knowledge into the craniums of about two-score grubby youngsters.”
To earn money for law school, he saved up the money he made from teaching but also did some reporting work at the local courts.
In 1900, he attended Osgoode Hall Law School and earned a law degree.
Seeing opportunity out west where his cousin, James Balfour, was, Martin left for Regina to join his cousin’s law firm in 1903. Balfour was a very influential figure in the city and would go on to serve as the Mayor of Regina in 1915 and 1931.
Soon after he arrived in Regina and began practicing law with Balfour, Martin was approached by a client who stated he feared there would be difficulties from his chosen profession and asked Martin to come to his home. When Martin did, he found that it was the home of a cattle rustler in the Willowbunch District. While Martin did take on the client, he was unable to prevent him from getting any jail time.
Two years after he arrived in Regina, he married Violette Florence Thompson. Together, they had three sons.
In 1908, Martin was elected to the House of Commons. His election win came in the new riding of Regina, which was formed after his predecessor in Parliament, Thomas Walter Scott, resigned to become the province’s first premier. As a Liberal, he pushed for railway infrastructure in Saskatchewan, regulations on freight rates, a grain grower association and the interests of farmers.
Martin remained in Parliament until 1916 when he was recruited by the Saskatchewan Liberals to become premier of the province after the resignation of Thomas Walter Scott. It was felt that Martin was an outsider of the party and therefore would not have the same baggage of anyone else who had served in the party for the previous 11 years.
The only other person who could have taken on the role was James Calder, but scandals were plaguing him, making him an ill-advised choice.
He accepted the offer and became premier, forcing him to resign his seat in the House of Commons. In a quick by-election on Nov. 13, 1916, he was acclaimed and began his career in the Saskatchewan Legislature, and as Premier of Saskatchewan.
The Windsor Star wrote,
“Of fine physique, tall and lithe, and with features in which the serious and the purposeful are conspicuous, he will make a striking figure among the legislators of Saskatchewan. That he will govern with a firm hand, that he will stand for nothing questionable, that he will prove absolutely incorruptible is the opinion of those who have known him as a school boy, university student, teacher, and lawyer.”
One of the biggest issues was funding for separate schools. Martin took on the education portfolio to deal with this issue. Along with being Minister of Education, he was also Minister of Railways and Minister of Telephones and Telegraphs.
To help revitalize the party, he brought in Charles A. Dunning, an advocate for farmers, to serve as the Provincial Treasurer.
His government also passed an early version of the Saskatchewan Bill of Rights, which demanded federal tariff reductions and a transfer to the province of the Crown lands and resources.
Martin also quickly began putting in reforms to improve the government’s image as it headed towards an election in 1917.
In the 1917 election, Martin had a landslide victory of 51 seats, reducing the Conservatives to only seven seats. This was the first election in which women could vote as well. The record of 51 seats would not be broken until the Conservatives won 55 seats in 1982.
In the federal election of that year, Martin endorsed the Union Government of Sir Robert Borden, which consisted of Conservatives and Liberals who supported conscription during the First World War. This Union Government would implement tariff policies that were not popular among Saskatchewan farmers, leading to new political parties forming to bring change.
As the United Farmers and Progressive Parties began to rise in power in the late-1910s, Martin was able to embrace this new populist movement. He did so by severing ties with the federal Liberals and recruiting Progressive MP John Maharg into his government. Since Maharg had strong ties to the farming and co-operative community, this helped Martin retain support in the province as leader.
As the 1921 election came along, while other provinces such as Alberta were dealing with a changing tide, Martin was able to hold onto his majority, albeit with 46 seats, five less than he had in the previous election. Part of the reason he succeeded in winning was the election was called before the other new parties were properly organized.
He said the election win was,
“very satisfactory and not altogether unexpected.”
That same year, the federal election was happening and the federal Progressives were opposing the federal Liberals. Martin campaigned for the federal Liberals locally, and stated he could not support several of the policy proposals of the Progressives.
This caused anger within the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association, who began to look towards creating their own party in the Legislature. Maharg, who by this point was the Minister of Agriculture, accused Martin of betraying farmers in the province and acting in bad faith.
He immediately resigned from cabinet, crossed the floor and became the Leader of the Opposition.
With the resignation, and the Grain Growers becoming powerful, Martin lost support in the party and he resigned as premier on April 5, 1922.
Martin said,
“When I undertook the leadership of my government in 1917, I made up my mind to give the people of Saskatchewan, good, clean, honest government. I stand here on my record. There has never been one charge against my administration since 1917.”
The Toronto Star wrote of the sudden resignation,
“Martin has done the unusual thing. Many will wonder why. It may be that he has seen the political upset in other provinces with foreboding. At any rate, it is unusual for a man of his age, in the full flush of success, to drop out quietly and to hand the reins of government to a friend.”
It is likely that Martin was looking at the writing on the wall. In Alberta in 1921, the Liberals lost power to the United Farmers. The Liberals would never again govern Alberta. In Manitoba, it was the same thing, with the Progressive Party winning the 1922 election. In Ontario, the United Farmers of Ontario won the election in 1919, although they would be out of power by 1923.
As soon as he resigned as premier, he was appointed a judge at the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. In 1941, he became the Chief Justice of Saskatchewan, a post he held for the next 20 years.
During the Second World War, Martin was a custodian of Enemy Alien Property, which was property and possessions seized from Canadians who were deemed to be enemy aliens simply because of where they were born.
In 1949, he was assigned the chairman of a commission to revise the Canadian Criminal Code.
Martin received one of his greatest honours when in 1958, Martin Collegiate Institute was named for him in Regina. The name was proposed by Lewis Thomas, associate professor of history at Regina College, in recognition of Martin’s long impact on the province. Chairman Robert Usher said,
“This is a deserving honor to a most outstanding citizen.”
In 1961, he retired as Chief Justice. In his retirement dinner, Premier Tommy Douglas stated that an era had come to an end.
By the time he reached old age in the 1960s, he was referred to as Saskatchewan’s Grand Old Man. A lifelong Mason, he was honoured in 1966 with a 50-year jewel and a 65-year clasp. At the time, Martin had been part of the Masons for 66 years.
Mason D.A.R. McCannel said,
“His natural dignity and his modesty will remain as a model for politicians and others. He will be always remembered as the architect of Saskatchewan.”
It would prove to be one of the last honours of his life.
Martin died on June 22, 1970. Upon his death, he was the last of the Liberals who served as the ruling part of Canada under Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He had outlived Laurier, the man many felt he would replace as leader before his move to provincial politics, by 51 years.
Attorney General Heald praised Martin for his measurable contribution to the public and legal life of Saskatchewan. He said,
“The loss is strongly felt because so few men have been so closely linked to the history of our province.”
William J. Patterson, the Premier of Saskatchewan from 1935 to 1944 and Lt. Governor of the Province from 1951 to 1958 stated,
“A man of unusual ability, Mr. Martin served the people of Saskatchewan in many capacities over a long period of years. He was universally respected and esteemed as a man of great ability and strong character.”
