The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pro-oil pundit who was at once the steady stickhandler of a national call-in radio show and a driver of divisive online discourse, has died.
The newspaper, where he worked as a columnist, said in an obituary on its website that Murphy died at age 77 following a battle with cancer.
Former prime minister Stephen Harper expressed his condolences on social media.
91裸聊视频淩ex Murphy was one of the most intelligent and fiercely free-thinking journalists this country has ever known,91裸聊视频� Harper wrote.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, in a social media post, called Murphy 91裸聊视频渁n icon, a pioneer of independent, eloquent and fearless thought, and always a captivating orator who never lost his touch.91裸聊视频�
Murphy hosted CBC Radio91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淐ross Country Checkup91裸聊视频� for more than two decades, holding the mic while the radio station opened its phone lines to callers far and wide.
Tasked with asking callers about their opinions and moderating on-air debates, Murphy said he was presented each week with a portrait of the country.
91裸聊视频淵ou get a sense of how the citizenry like to deal with things. What gives you the most satisfaction is the tempered nature of Canadians, even when they91裸聊视频檙e disagreeing,91裸聊视频� Murphy told The Canadian Press when he announced his retirement from the role in 2015.
Born outside of St. John91裸聊视频檚, N.L., Murphy graduated from Memorial University before attending Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.
Murphy got his start lending a hand at the private radio station VOCM in St. John91裸聊视频檚, backfilling a talk show while its host went on vacation.
He spent a month in that job in the early 1970s before jumping into a gig with CBC Radio91裸聊视频檚 Here and Now.
More than a decade later, he dipped his toe into politics. He ran for provincial office twice 91裸聊视频� first in Placentia, N.L., in 1985 and then in a byelection in St. John91裸聊视频檚 East a year later 91裸聊视频� and lost both times.
Though he ran with the Liberal Party of Newfoundland in both cases, he became a loud detractor of the federal party later in life, calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau91裸聊视频檚 government 91裸聊视频渢he worst Canadian government ever.91裸聊视频�
Murphy was likewise an outspoken opponent of 91裸聊视频渨okeism,91裸聊视频� progressive ideology sensitive to systemic inequities, and argued repeatedly in his weekly National Post column that conservative voices like his were being pushed to the margins.
In a 2022 column, he decried 91裸聊视频渢he frenzy of woke politics and the cancel culture it has bred and nourished, the prescriptions on what may or may not be debated or talked about.91裸聊视频�
Two years earlier, he91裸聊视频檇 been at the centre of one such frenzy for another piece of writing in the National Post.
A week after Minneapolis police murdered George Floyd, a Black man, Murphy accused Liberals 91裸聊视频� those with Ls both big and small 91裸聊视频� of trumping up racism in Canada.
91裸聊视频淢ost Canadians, the vast majority in fact, are horrified by racism and would never participate in it,91裸聊视频� he wrote. 91裸聊视频淲e are in fact not a racist country, though to say so may shock some.91裸聊视频�
The column was widely decried, prompting an editorial review at the Post. Leadership eventually added a note at the top of the piece saying it fell short of the newspaper91裸聊视频檚 standards.
This was not Murphy91裸聊视频檚 first brush with controversy.
In 2014, while still hosting 91裸聊视频淐ross Country Checkup91裸聊视频� and regularly contributing TV essays to 91裸聊视频淭he National,91裸聊视频� members of the public complained to CBC91裸聊视频檚 ombudsman that Murphy was in a conflict of interest for doing paid speeches at oil industry gatherings.
Murphy had long defended the sector, including on CBC, saying the oil boom saved many of his friends and fellow Newfoundlanders from economic ruin when the East Coast fisheries collapsed.
As for the speeches, he said nobody controlled what he said 91裸聊视频� not the oil industry, and not the CBC.
For its part, the public broadcaster initially defended Murphy, saying that as a freelancer, he had more leeway than full-time staff. But after the ombudsman91裸聊视频檚 report, the CBC changed its policy to require freelance hosts to disclose their paid events to the company.
Murphy91裸聊视频檚 pro-oil position went hand-in-hand with his stance on environmentalists.
In 2020, he referred to them as a 91裸聊视频渄oomsday cult of global warming,91裸聊视频� and three years later argued 91裸聊视频渆nvironmental alarmism is the religion of children, a sandbox for narcissists 91裸聊视频� regardless of how old they are.91裸聊视频�
Several premiers paid tribute to Murphy on social media, including Newfoundland and Labrador91裸聊视频檚 Andrew Furey.
91裸聊视频淣ewfoundlanders and Labradorians are mourning one of our own tonight, and sending condolences to his family and friends,91裸聊视频� Furey wrote. 91裸聊视频淩ex Murphy91裸聊视频檚 quick wit and mastery of words were unmatched, and his presence was significant 91裸聊视频� whether or not everyone always agreed.91裸聊视频�
Premier Danielle Smith called him a 91裸聊视频済ood and true friend to Alberta.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淐anada will never have a voice like his again 91裸聊视频� as a proud Newfoundlander he championed what he believed to be right for our country,91裸聊视频� Smith said.
Saskatchewan91裸聊视频檚 Scott Moe said Murphy was a strong advocate for Western Canada.
91裸聊视频淗e was a fiercely proud Canadian who believed every part of Canada should be treated fairly because every part of Canada makes our nation stronger,91裸聊视频� the premier said.
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