Rex Murphy, a veteran Canadian broadcaster and columnist, gained national fame as the host of CBC’s Sunday afternoon radio call-in show Cross-Country Checkup, and often worked on subjects that were near to his Newfoundland identity.Patti Gower/The Globe and Mail
Rex Murphy, the irascible, irrepressibly proud son of Newfoundland who parlayed a cutting wit and generous spirit into a decades-long career as a broadcaster and columnist, died Thursday of cancer at the age of 77.
Over the course of his life, Mr. Murphy went from admiring large-L Liberal politics and prime ministers to embracing culture wars and climate denialism. He was most recently a columnist with the National Post, which first reported the news of his death. He had worked there since 2010. Previously, he had worked as a columnist for The Globe and Mail.
Born in 1947 in Carbonear, Newfoundland and raised near St. John’s, Mr. Murphy showed extraordinary potential from a young age. After graduating from Memorial University, he was named a Rhodes Scholar in 1968 and studied at Oxford University. He returned to Newfoundland and became a player in the province’s political scene, as an interviewer on the local CBC supper-hour program Here and Now, tussling with elected leaders.
He also worked for some of them, serving as an executive assistant to the leader of the provincial Liberal Party, twice running for provincial office – once as a Liberal and once as a Conservative – losing both times. In 1981, he went to work for the Newfoundland Conservative leader, Frank Moores.
Last December, he conducted a soft interview with Pierre Poilievre in which he praised the Conservative Leader and inveighed against “the woke agenda.” And he wrote numerous columns decrying the accepted science of climate change.
Mr. Murphy first gained national fame as the host of CBC’s Sunday afternoon radio call-in show Cross-Country Checkup. He worked on current affairs programs and documentaries for CBC, often on subjects that were near to his Newfoundland identity, including Unpeopled Shores, about the disappearance of cod. He also worked on pieces about the writer Annie Proulx, the Second World War, scientist Hubert Reeves, Conrad Black and William Shakespeare.
When he perceived a slight against Newfoundland, as he did on occasion when encountering the prejudices of mainlanders, he defended his home province fiercely.
For many years he also offered strongly worded points of view during commentaries on CBC-TV’s The National.
After he left the CBC in 2015, he became one of its most vocal critics.
As news of his death spread late on Thursday, admirers praised him and former antagonists paid grudging tribute to his fierce intellect.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), former Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrote that Mr. Murphy “was one of the most intelligent and fiercely free-thinking journalists this county has ever known.” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wrote, “Canada will never have a voice like his again – as a proud Newfoundlander he championed what he believed to be right for our country and was always a good and true friend to Alberta.”
Mr. Poilievre wrote: “Canada has lost an icon, a pioneer of independent, eloquent, and fearless thought, and always a captivating orator who never lost his touch.”
Former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne wrote: “Rex Murphy didn’t like my politics and I didn’t like his but he was a character and he will be missed a lot.”
Mark Critch, the Newfoundland-born-and-bred comedian and star of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, posted: “RIP Rex Murphy. Long before I played him on 22, he worked with my dad at VOCM. When Rex came on, dad would shush the house. You might not always agree with what he had to say but oh, could he say it. I hope he makes it home to Gooseberry Cove.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Frank Moores's name.
Simon Houpt