He was first elected in
1993 as a member of the
Reform Party of Canada for the riding of Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca. Being socially liberal, he often clashed with the Reform's conservative ideas. From 1996 to 2000 he had his own nationally syndicated television program on current events called Beyond Politics. When the Reform Party was folded into the
Canadian Alliance, he sought the
party leadership, but finished fourth with 2% of the vote. In both 2009 and 2010, political commentator
Rex Murphy, from the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's
The National, recognized Martin as the most underrated politician in the House of Commons. Martin led many initiatives in the House of Commons, including legislation to ban landmines (1995, 1996), establish an international mechanism to prevent deadly conflict (Responsibility to Protect) 2007, democratize Parliament, support early learning programs (Head Start) 2000, and modernize Canada's healthcare system. Martin has been on diplomatic missions to areas in crisis, including
Sudan, the
Middle East,
Zimbabwe,
Sierra Leone, and the
Sahal. He led initiatives to provide emergency relief in times of crisis, e.g., the
2004 tsunami, famine in
Niger,
North Pakistan,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, etc. He also took an international leadership role in global health, including chairing global pre-G8 parliamentary committees in
Japan and
Rome. He's had experience between 1986–2007 volunteering on conservation programs in
Africa, especially on
rhino and other large mammals projects. He has been an ardent campaigner against the trafficking of illegal wildlife products, and has strongly supported the integration of conservation into development initiatives. On April 17, 2002, he caused a controversy as he attempted to remove the
ceremonial mace from the table of the Clerk of the House to protest an intervention by the government that violated MP's fundamental democratic rights. He was found to be in
contempt and not allowed to retake his seat until he had apologized to the House from the Bar. The reason for his actions was as a result of an amendment that would have removed the entire contents of Martin's Private Members' Bill C-344 which violated the spirit and meaning of Private Members Business.
Liberal In January 2004, after the Canadian Alliance merged with the centre-right
Progressive Conservative Party to form the
Conservative Party of Canada, Martin announced he would not join the new party. He sat as an independent for the remainder of the 37th Parliament, but ran as a Liberal in the
2004 election. He was re-elected, and served as the
Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of National Defence. Martin was subsequently re-elected in the
2006 and
2008 federal elections. He has served in many shadow cabinet positions including foreign affairs, health and international development. He has taken leadership roles in many areas including: global health, domestic health, foreign affairs, conservation and the environment and human rights. He was appointed in 2004 by Prime Minister
Paul Martin to be a member of the Queen's Privy Council. Martin has organized several relief efforts to ship urgent medical supplies to areas in crisis. He is the founder of several global health and conservation initiatives. He is Founder and Chair of the first all Party International Conservation Caucus. In 2010, he founded the International Conservation Forum, a website that increases awareness and facilitates action on key conservation issues through the use of social media and the publication of the online magazine - The Horn. On November 9, 2010, Martin announced that he wouldn't run in the next
election, stating that "Canada's institutions need new blood and new ideas." He's been an outspoken critic of the decline in democracy in parliament and the increasing disempowerment of Members of Parliament. == Post-politics career ==