Obituary: Shirley Martin was ‘a straight shooter all the way,’ says former PM Mulroney

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney has fond memories of Shirley Martin.

Martin - who died on Sept. 16 at 88 - represented Lincoln riding as the Progressive Conservative MP between 1984-1993, and served in Mulroney's cabinet in two portfolios.

I remember her very well," said Mulroney, who kept in touch with Martin and spoke to her a few years ago.

She was an excellent member of Parliament. When she came to cabinet, she performed in a first-class manner, not only for her constituents but with her cabinet colleagues as well."

He said Martin always had a smile on her face" and that his wife Mila - who campaigned in Lincoln for Martin in the 1988 election - admired her as much as I did."

Everybody liked her and everybody trusted her," said Mulroney. She was fantastic."

He also noted that after she left politics she stayed active in the community, volunteering with such groups as the Grimsby and District Chamber of Commerce, Brock University, Grimsby Museum and West Lincoln Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. Martin served as fundraising chair for McNally House, the hospice which opened in 2008.

She set an example to all," Mulroney added. She was a straight shooter all the way. Both Mila and I are going to miss her very much."

Martin's death came a few weeks after her husband passed away. Jack Martin, who ran a Winona-area fruit farm with his wife, died Aug. 26 at age 92.

Martin will also be remembered as the person who halted the political comeback of Liberal stalwart John Munro. The former cabinet minister, who represented Hamilton East for 22 years, ran in Lincoln in 1988 and many believed he had a good chance of defeating Martin because of local resentment with the free trade deal. She beat Munro by 438 votes.

I recall as a young local PC activist in the 1988 federal campaign that Shirley was elevated to legendary status in fending off John Munro," said Dan Muys, elected the Tory MP for Flamborough-Glanbrook in the Sept. 20 election.

Shirley Martin was a force. When she entered a room she immediately commanded respect and brought credibility."

Former Hamilton mayor Larry Di Ianni served on Stoney Creek council when Martin was MP (Stoney Creek was in Lincoln).

She always struck me as a very serious and proper lady, in every good sense of the word," he said.

Di Ianni also got to know her husband Jack.

He was an affable man, but a polar opposite to Shirley," he noted. She was soft-spoken, he was gruff ... If opposites attract, they certainly evidenced that."

Martin served as minister of state (Transport) between 1988-1990 and then minister of state (Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development) 1990-1991. She returned to the transport post from 1991 to 1993.

She faced some tough issues - air traffic turmoil at Pearson in 1988 and the Oka crisis in 1990. Hamilton Spectator reporter John Flanders said in a 1993 article that people in transport and Indian affairs gave Martin top marks for slugging it out in the trenches and putting in the hours.

Martin helped Kim Campbell win the PC leadership by serving as co-chair of her national leadership campaign. She decided not to run in the 1993 election, choosing to spend more time with family.

Martin served as a delegate to merge the PC party with the Canadian Alliance to found the new Conservative party in 2003, and worked on Niagara-area MP Dean Allison's election campaigns.

Martin was born in Hamilton Nov. 20, 1932. She went to work as a Bell Canada switchboard operator when she was 14 to support her widowed mother. She rose up the ranks to business services manager. Her family moved to Grimsby in 1983.

Shirley's life was a vivid illustration of what a passionate and purposeful person can accomplish," said her family in a statement. Shirley was once quoted as saying, You don't do things being mindful of a reward. You do it because you see a need and want to help.' "

Martin received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. She was Grimsby's Citizen of the Year in 2007.

She is survived by sons John and Chris, and six grandchildren.

Daniel Nolan can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com