Joseph Martin (Canadian politician)

Joseph Martin
"Fighting" Joe Martin
13th Premier of British Columbia
In office February 28, 1900 – June 14, 1900
Monarch	Victoria
Lieutenant Governor	Thomas Robert McInnes
Preceded by	Charles Semlin
Succeeded by	James Dunsmuir
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Portage la Prairie
In office January 23, 1883 – July 23, 1892
Preceded by	James Cowan
Succeeded by	Robert Watson
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Winnipeg
In office November 2, 1893 – June 23, 1896
Preceded by	Hugh John Macdonald
Succeeded by	Hugh John Macdonald
MLA for Vancouver City
In office July 9, 1898 – October 3, 1903 Serving with Francis Lovett Carter-Cotton, Robert Macpherson, Charles Edward Tisdall, James Garden, Hugh Bowie Gilmour, Robert Garnett Tatlow
Preceded by	Adolphus Williams
Succeeded by	William John Bowser
Member of Parliament for St Pancras East
In office January 17, 1910 – December 14, 1918
Preceded by	Hugh Lea
Succeeded by	constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	(1852-09-24)September 24, 1852 Milton, Ontario
Died	March 2, 1923(1923-03-02) (aged 70) Vancouver, British Columbia
Political party	Government Manitoba Liberal Party Liberal Party of Canada Liberal Party (UK)

Joseph Martin (September 24, 1852 – March 2, 1923) was a lawyer and politician in Manitoba, British Columbia and the United Kingdom often referred to as "Fighting Joe".

Born in Milton, Ontario, the son of Edward Martin, a former Reeve, and Mary Ann Fleming, Martin was educated at the Milton public school, the Toronto Normal School and University of Toronto. He was a telegraph operator and afterwards obtained a First-class Teacher's certificate, and was appointed Principal of the public school in New Edinburgh, Ontario. He studied law in Ottawa and moved to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1882. He was called to the Bar of Manitoba in 1882.

He was first elected as the member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for the Portage la Prairie riding in 1883 and served as Attorney-General in the government of Thomas Greenway. In 1890, he initiated legislation to end French language instruction and support for Catholic separate schools, prompting the Manitoba Schools Question crisis.

Martin ran unsuccessfully as a Liberal candidate in the 1891 election to become the Member of Parliament for Selkirk. When Sir Hugh Macdonald resigned his Winnipeg seat, Martin ran in the 1893 by-election and won by acclamation. He lost the seat to Macdonald when they both ran for re-election in Selkirk in the 1896 election. He later ran in the 1908 election as an Independent in the Vancouver City riding but was not elected.