Conception of G20 viewed as Paul Martin’s greatest political success
Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:45 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – The G20 is a “made in Canada” concept — the brainchild of former prime minister and finance minister Paul Martin.
The G20 was created in response to emerging nation debt defaults in the late ’90s.
In 1999, Martin, who was finance minister to former prime minister Jean Chretien, was viewed as a well-respected money man by the rest of the world, especially the United States.
It was around this time the global economy was rocked by a series of massive debt defaults in Southeast Asia, Russia and Mexico.
Martin convinced the powerful club of G7 it was in their best interest as Western leaders to let the developing nations in, so that they could have some influence over the economic policies of the emerging nation.
The creation of the G20 is considered by many to be Martin’s greatest political success.
