In 2022 I have the opportunity to meet Rex Murphy for the second time. He was the keynote speaker at the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show in 2019 and 2022.
I was halfway through editing the video for the 2022 speech two years ago when somehow the file I was working on got lost, and I never did finish the edit. Thursday night I dug up the video files and put this together, in tribute.
This video and speech have not been published before Thursday. Even at 75, and pretty exhausted once he left the stage, he still put on a stellar oratory.
Later in the story is the video for his 2019 speech, which knocked it out of the park.
Oh, how I wish I could have had Rex as a columnist. It would have been stellar. RIP Rex.
I always loved listening to Rex Murphy – Intelligence is so sexy! I also learned much about thoughtfulness and how to craft a good answer.
Rex Murphy amazing Canadian, Rhode Scholar and will be missed forever! He described Trudeaus failures to T!
He detailed a plan for Canada that the Liberals ignored!
A good sense of humor is such an asset. Rex had it. Too bad it’s a fading social tool.
I too enjoyed listening to and reading Rex. Not many in this country who had his ability to, what’s the right phrase, take it to them seems less than adequate. It was the Newfoundlander in him.
CBC chooses to distance itself from Rex.
In 2014, while still hosting Cross Country Checkup and regularly contributing TV essays to The National, members of the public complained to CBC’s ombudsman that Murphy was in a conflict of interest for doing paid speeches at oil industry gatherings.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/rex-murphy-obituary-1.7199788
Very selective in what public complaints they listen to.
Agreed. The CBC is a vile organization that fouls everything it touches. Its ingratitute for the Great Canadian whom they were fortunate to employ speaks for itself.
At one time CBC pronouced eugenicist Tommy Douglas as the Greatest Canadian of all time. Naturally they overlooked the obvious choice Rex Murphy. One of Rex’s virtues was that he believed so strongly in the value and virtue of Canada as a nation.
This CBC interview with the comedian who played Rex Murphy on This Hour Has 22 Minutes shows a lot of respect, although he does say he was quite right wing in later years… However, he claims Rex thought Pierre Trudeau was the greatest Canadian so he must be OK.
Both the comedian and the interview host are from Newfoundland, like Rex. The comedian also was a family friend.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/comedian-mike-critch-calls-rex-murphy-the-greatest-wordsmith-in-a-place-known-for-talkers/vi-BB1m7QXT?ocid=winp2fptaskbarent&cvid=5fc6ae3360034dfe8b7c60abec6bd1eb&ei=16
One regret I’ve had for a long time – when working in downtown Toronto over two decades ago, I used to take lunchtime walks through the core. One favourite was through the Santiago Calatrava designed atrium at what used to be known as BCE Place (now Canada Trust). Rex Murphy passed me by with a faraway look as if he was composing his next article while strolling. Partly out of politeness and also not wanting to disturb the man, I didn’t approach him and let him know how much I liked his body of work. An opportunity missed.
BTW – you couldn’t mistake the man when you saw him.
It always amazed me that he was on the CBC. Very strange. The only one worth watching on that station.
Loved his interview with Jordan Peterson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0P6H7cm0E4
Rest in Peace Rex. Go with God.
Brilliant orator and writer. Rex was a pleasure to listen to. Common sense politics too. No one can replace him.
I found him to a bit stodgy on TV and overly-obtuse as a writer, in my youth, but that changed dramatically as I grew up. I will truly miss his comments on the most important issues of our times, including his last post.
I think his contributions improved, as he got older too.