Rex Murphy (born March 1947) is a Canadian commentator and author, primarily on Canadian political and social matters. He was the regular host of

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of Ca ...

's ''

Cross Country Checkup ''Cross Country Checkup'' is a Canada-wide open-line radio show that airs Sunday afternoons on CBC Radio One. The program has been hosted by Ian Hanomansing since September 2020; he was initially announced as an interim host for the 2020–21 se ...

'', a nationwide

call-in show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

, for 21 years before stepping down in September 2015. He currently writes for the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' and has a YouTube channel called ''RexTV''.

Early life and education

Murphy was born in 1947 in

Carbonear Carbonear is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It overlooks the west side of Conception Bay and had a history long tied to fishing and shipbuilding. Since the late 20th century, its economy has changed to emphasi ...

, in the then-

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westmi ...

. Like all British subjects born in Newfoundland prior to union with Canada in 1949, Murphy became a natural born Canadian citizen under the ''Newfoundland Terms of Union'' and an amendment to the ''Canadian Citizenship Act'', passed in 1949. Murphy grew up in Placentia, 105 kilometres west of St. John's, and is the second of five children of Harry and Marie Murphy. He graduated from

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...

with a degree in English in 1968. In 1968, he studied law for a year at

St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university ...

, as a

Rhodes scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

. Returning to Newfoundland, he began a Master's degree in English, but did not complete it.

Early career

Murphy first came to national attention while attending Memorial University during a nationally covered speech in

Lennoxville Lennoxville is an ''arrondissement'', or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometres south of downtown Sherbrooke. Lennoxvi ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Murphy characterized Newfoundland Premier

Joey Smallwood Joseph Roberts Smallwood (December 24, 1900 – December 17, 1991) was a Newfoundlander and Canadian politician. He was the main force who brought the Dominion of Newfoundland into Canadian Confederation in 1949, becoming the first premier of ...

's governing style as dictatorial and proclaimed his legislature's recent announcement of free tuition as a sham. Smallwood warned the undergraduate student in a news conference not to return. Murphy did and was elected President of Memorial University Student Council. Smallwood's administration followed through with its promise; students were awarded both free tuition and an additional $50 living allowance. Murphy ran for provincial office in Newfoundland twice, both times as candidate for the

Liberal Party of Newfoundland The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a political party in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The party is the provincial branch, and affiliate of the federal Liberal Party of Canada. It has served as the Government ...

. He stood for election in the 1985 general election in the riding of Placentia, and came in second, losing by 146 votes to William G. Patterson. The next year, he stood for election in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in the riding of

St. John's East St. John's East (french: St. John's-Est; formerly known as St. John's North) is a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1949. It covers a part of St ...

. This time he came in third, behind the successful

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

candidate,

Gene Long Gene Long (born 1957) is a former politician in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He was elected in 1986 as the New Democratic Party member of the House of Assembly for the riding of St. John's East. Long ran for the party leadership in March ...

, and the Progressive Conservative candidate,

Shannie Duff Suzanne M. Duff ( Frecker; born August 22, 1936) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 12th mayor of St. John's from 1990 to 1993 and as a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly.Clyde Wells, who became premier of Newfoundland in 1989.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Murphy was a frequent presence on the various branches of the CBC. He had regular commentary segments entitled "Point of View" on '' The National'',

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

's flagship nightly news program. He was also the regular host of

's ''

'', a nationwide

. In 2004, he and nine other prominent Canadians participated in the production and the defence of a Great Canadian on the CBC Television program ''

The Greatest Canadian ''The Greatest Canadian'' is a 2004 television series consisting of 13 episodes produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to determine who is considered to be the greatest Canadian of all time, according to those who watched and p ...

''. Murphy, advocating for former prime minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

, guided his candidate to third place in the final vote. Murphy retired from ''Cross Country Checkup'' on 20 September 2015, and continued his commentary segments on ''The National'' until 28 June 2017. After receiving several public complaints in 2014, the CBC's ombudsman investigated claims that Murphy may have been in

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

by criticizing opponents of the Alberta oil sands in his ''Point of view'' segments while receiving money from the oil industry for paid speeches. In the final report and after an investigation, the CBC's ombudsman, Esther Enkin, did not say whether Murphy's speeches presented a conflict of interest but did conclude that "since taking money leads to a perception of a conflict of interest, CBC management might want to consider, in the review they are undertaking, whether even with disclosure, it is appropriate for CBC news and current affairs staff to get paid for their speaking engagements."

Subsequent work

Murphy wrote a column for the Saturday edition of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' newspaper until January 2010, when the ''Globe'' cancelled the column and Murphy moved to the ''

'', for which he continues to write. Murphy's writing is characterized by a polysyllabic style and a wide range of cultural references. In October 2019, he launched ''RexTV'', his own YouTube channel, in which he interviews prominent figures in politics, business, academia, journalism, science and culture who might be ignored or misrepresented by the mainstream media. In 2009 Murphy criticized the Liberal party who had proposed "green" policy responses for global warming. Murphy has also criticized the Liberal government's response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

for creating a system in which the government is "...without opposition, free to gush money wherever it wishes, in whatever amounts it chooses, to whomever it favours."

Honours

In June 2008, Murphy was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

. He was awarded honorary doctorates of letters by Memorial, St. Thomas, and Nipissing universities. In June 2013, he was awarded the Honorary Fellowship of the

Canadian Institute of Management CIM , Chartered Managers Canada is Canada's senior professional association, certification body and academic institute for managers and leaders. History CIM , Chartered Managers Canada was founded in 1942 as the Society of Industrial Metho ...

References

External links

Rex Murphy profile at cbc.caRexTV on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Rex 1947 births Living people Canadian anti-communists Canadian columnists Canadian monarchists Canadian Rhodes Scholars Canadian social commentators Canadian talk radio hosts CBC Radio hosts CBC Television people Canadian Screen Award winning journalists Memorial University of Newfoundland alumni National Post people People from Carbonear Pre-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador people Journalists from Newfoundland and Labrador Journalists from Toronto Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford