22 Facts About Rex Murphy

Robert Rex Rafael Murphy was a Canadian commentator and author, primarily on Canadian political and social matters.

Rex Murphy was the regular host of CBC Radio One's Cross Country Checkup, a nationwide call-in show, for 21 years before stepping down in September 2015.

Rex Murphy wrote for the National Post and had a YouTube channel called RexTV.

Rex Murphy grew up in Placentia, 105 kilometres west of St John's, and is the second of five children of Harry and Marie Rex Murphy.

Rex Murphy graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland with a degree in Education in 1966.

Rex Murphy first came to national attention in 1965, while attending Memorial University, during a nationally covered speech in Lennoxville, Quebec.

Rex Murphy characterized Newfoundland Premier Joey Smallwood's governing style as dictatorial and proclaimed his legislature's recent announcement of free tuition as a sham as it only covered the first year of a degree program.

Rex Murphy did return, and was elected President of Memorial University Student Council.

Rex Murphy later switched parties in the 1980s and served two years as chief researcher for the provincial Liberal caucus before running for provincial office twice, as a Liberal.

Rex Murphy 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.

Rex Murphy was a frequent presence on the various branches of the CBC.

Rex Murphy returned to CBC in the 1990s and had regular commentary segments entitled "Point of View" on The National, CBC Television's flagship nightly news program.

Rex Murphy was the regular host of CBC Radio One's Cross Country Checkup, a nationwide call-in show, starting in 1994 and continuing for 21 years.

Rex Murphy, advocating for former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, guided his candidate to third place in the final vote.

Rex Murphy retired from Cross Country Checkup on 20 September 2015, and continued his commentary segments on The National until 28 June 2017.

Rex Murphy wrote a column for the Saturday edition of The Globe and Mail newspaper until January 2010, when the Globe cancelled the column and Rex Murphy moved to the National Post, for which he continued to write until his death.

In 2009, Rex Murphy criticized the Liberal Party for proposing "green" policy responses to global warming.

Rex Murphy argued that climate change is "a sub-branch of climate politics".

Rex Murphy criticized former US Vice President Al Gore's opposition to the Alberta oil sands and in a 2013 column, called the industry "a dazzling and profitable engineering endeavor of which all Canadians should be proud".

Rex Murphy died from cancer on 9 May 2024 in Toronto, at the age of 77.

In June 2008, Rex Murphy was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Waterloo.

Rex Murphy was awarded honorary doctorates of letters by Memorial, St Thomas, and Nipissing universities.