Brenda Murphy | |
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32nd Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick | |
Assumed office September 8, 2019 | |
Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III |
Governors General | Julie Payette Mary Simon |
Premier | Blaine Higgs |
Preceded by | Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau |
Personal details | |
Born | 1958 or 1959 (age 64–65)[1] |
Domestic partner | Linda Boyle[2] |
Brenda Murphy OStJ ONB (born 1958 or 1959) is a Canadian activist and politician, who is the 32nd lieutenant governor of New Brunswick, since September 8, 2019.[3]
Murphy is the first openly LGBTQ person to hold any viceregal office in Canadian history.
She formerly served as a municipal councillor in Grand Bay–Westfield and served as the executive director of the Saint John Women's Empowerment Network in Saint John, best known for her advocacy on poverty and domestic violence issues.[4] She served on a federal advisory council on poverty, and on New Brunswick's advisory council on the status of women.[2]
Since September 8, 2019, she has served as lieutenant governor of New Brunswick. She is both the province's first openly LGBTQ lieutenant governor and the first openly LGBTQ person to hold any viceregal office in Canada.[1]
In April 2022, the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick ruled that her appointment as lieutenant governor violated the bilingual status of the province under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, since Murphy is unilingual English-speaking.[5] However in May 2024, the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick overturned this judgment.[6]
Ribbon | Description | Post-nominal letters | Notes |
Officer of the Order of St. John | OStJ | [7] | |
Member of the Order of New Brunswick | ONS | [7] | |
Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal | [7]Canadian version | ||
King Charles III Coronation Medal | [7]Canadian version |
Murphy is an out lesbian and lives in Grand Bay–Westfield. Her partner Linda Boyle has accompanied her on official engagements, including a visit to King Charles III at Buckingham Palace in November 2022.[8]
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But the appeal court says the Charter doesn't specify a right to "speak" to the lieutenant-governor herself in English or French, only to communicate with her office.
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