Paul Martineau

Who was Paul Martineau?

Paul Raymond Martineau PC QC KCSG was a Canadian politician, lawyer, crown attorney and judge.

The son of Alphonse Martineau and Lucienne Lemieux, Martineau grew up in the Quebec portion of the Ottawa Valley. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1941 from the University of Ottawa. He served for four years in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, and was subsequently president of the Quebec branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. After the war, he received a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the Université de Montréal. He was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1949. A private practice lawyer from 1950 to 1980, he was a crown attorney from 1950 to 1958.

In 1946, he married Helene Neclaw.

He was defeated in the 1957 federal election in his first attempt to win a seat in the Canadian House of Commons, but was elected in the 1958 election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Pontiac—Témiscamingue. Martineau served as parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister John Diefenbaker from 1959 to 1961. He and then was Deputy Speaker of the House until 1962, when he joined the Canadian Cabinet as Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys.