Rex Murphy (born March 1947) is a Canadian commentator and author, primarily on Canadian political and social matters.
Murphy was born in Carbonear, Newfoundland, 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 in 1968, and promptly went to the United Kingdom to study at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He did not, however, receive an Oxford degree.
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Murphy first came to national attention while attending Memorial University during a nationally covered speech in Lennoxville, Quebec. Murphy characterized then Newfoundland Premier Joey Smallwood's governing style as dictatorial, and proclaimed the recent announcement from his legislature 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. In the end the government caved in. All students received the free tuition promised, plus a $50 living allowance.
Murphy has run for office in three Newfoundland provincial elections, in 1975 as a Progressive Conservative, and in 1985 and 1987 as a Liberal. He lost all three times. He also worked in the 1980s as executive assistant to Clyde Wells.
Murphy is a frequent presence on the various branches of the CBC. He has regular commentary segments entitled "Point of View" on The National, the CBC's flagship nightly news program. He is the regular host of CBC Radio One's Cross Country Checkup, a nationwide call-in show.
He also wrote a column for the Saturday edition of the Globe and Mail newspaper until January 2010 when the Globe cancelled the column and Murphy moved to Canada's National Post.[1] Murphy's writing is characterized by a polysyllabic style, a wide range of cultural references, and conservative-leaning positions.
Of late, he has been a particularly noted critic of arguments for anthropogenic climate change and proposed policy responses for it, such as the Green Shift. On Thursday, September 29, 2011, Murphy hosted "Climate Change 101" at the University of Calgary. The event was sponsored by W. Brett Wilson, a Canadian entrepreneur and a former employee of Imperial Oil.[2]
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. Murphy, advocating for former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, guided his candidate to third place in the final vote.
In June 2008, Rex Murphy was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Waterloo.[3]