Rex Murphy is a Canadian commentator and author, primarily on Canadian political and social matters. He 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. He currently writes for the National Post and has a YouTube channel called RexTV.
Murphy first came to national attention while attending Memorial University during a nationally covered speech in Lennoxville, Quebec. Murphy characterized Newfoundland Premier Joey Smallwood'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. In the end the government caved in. All students received the free tuition promised, plus a $50 living allowance. Murphy has run for provincial office in Newfoundland twice: in the 1985 provincial election in the riding of Placentia and in a by-election in the riding of St. John's East in 1986 as a Liberal. He lost both times. He also worked in the 1980s as executive assistant to Clyde Wells.
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's flagship nightly news program. He was also the regular host of CBC Radio One's Cross Country Checkup, a nationwide call-in show. 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 ministerPierre Trudeau, 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 Mr. Murphy may have been in conflict of interest 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 subsequent to 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."
Current work
Murphy 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 the National Post, 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. Murphy is a vocal critic of arguments for anthropogenic climate change and proposed policy responses for it, such as the Green Shift.
COVID-19
In the early months of 2020, Murphy was a vocal critic of the Liberal government's actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it "Liberal Government at the Bottom of the Cottage Doorsteps". He described the state of the government as
