Editing Paul Martin (section)

==Return to the back benches (2006–2008)==
[[File:Paul Martin in 2011.jpg|thumb|Martin in 2011]]

Choosing not to take on the office of [[Leader of the Opposition (Canada)|Leader of the Opposition]], the first defeated Prime Minister who had retained his seat not to do so, Martin stepped down as [[parliamentary leader]] of his party on February 1, and the Liberal caucus appointed [[Bill Graham (Canadian politician)|Bill Graham]], MP for [[Toronto Centre]] and outgoing [[Minister of National Defence (Canada)|Defence Minister]], as his interim successor.

Martin temporarily remained nominal Liberal party leader until March 18, 2006, when he submitted his resignation to party executives, who handed that post to Graham for the interim until that next leadership convention could be held. At the same meeting Martin tendered his resignation, the date for the leadership convention to select his successor was set for the weekend of December 2–3, 2006. According to media reports, Martin decided to move up the date of his resignation to end speculation that he might lead the Liberals into another election if Stephen Harper's minority government were to fall prior to the Liberal leadership convention.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2006-03-16 |title=Martin to officially resign as party leader |work=[[CBC News]] |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/martin-to-officially-resign-as-party-leader-1.603650 |access-date=2023-06-15}}</ref> This began a trend of high turnover among permanent Liberal leaders, in contrast to their predecessors who usually served over two or more elections, including Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chrétien who each led for over a decade.<ref name="www.macleans.ca">Wells, Paul. (May 4, 2011) [http://www.macleans.ca/2011/05/04/politics-turned-over/ The untold story of the 2011 election: Introduction and Chapter 1 – Paul Wells]. Macleans.ca. Retrieved on 2013-07-12.</ref>

At the [[2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|Liberal convention in Montreal]], Martin was officially neutral in the contest. The party's tribute to Martin was hosted by former Olympian [[Mark Tewksbury]]. Martin's press secretary denied that the tribute was low key due to the Sponsorship Scandal and lingering bitterness inside the party, saying that the former prime minister wanted a simple evening. In his farewell speech, Martin paid homage to Chrétien, though the latter was not present for the event, and urged the Liberals to emerge united from the convention. [[Stéphane Dion]] was elected Liberal leader from a field of eight candidates.<ref name="Martin convention" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061130/martin_tribute_061130/20061130?hub=CTVNewsAt11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014011009/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061130/martin_tribute_061130/20061130?hub=CTVNewsAt11 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 14, 2007 |title=CTV.ca &#124; Liberals pay tribute to Paul Martin at convention |publisher=Ctv.ca |date=November 30, 2006 <!-- 10:15&nbsp;pm ET -->  |access-date=October 24, 2008}}</ref>

For his last years of public office after resigning as Prime Minister, Martin was a backbencher, devoting his time to projects related to improving educational opportunities for Aboriginals (The Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative), and protecting the [[Congo Basin]] rain forest. In the 2008 federal election, Martin did not run for re-election to Parliament.