Writer and journalist Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post

Rex Murphy, the controversial Newfoundland-born pundit and wordsmith whose writing and often-blistering commentaries were the focus of a decades-long career in Canadian media, has died at the age of 77, according to the National Post.

«You might not agree with what Rex had to say, but oh, boy, could he ever say it,» said comedian and fellow Newfoundlander Mark Critch, who performed an impression of Murphy on .

In a report published on the Post's website on Thursday, the newspaper said Murphy died after a battle with cancer, and he had last corresponded with an editor there on Tuesday, inquiring about his most-recent column.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey posted a statement on the social platform X Thursday saying that people there «are mourning one of our own tonight, and sending condolences to his family and friends.»

Murphy's «quick wit and mastery of words were unmatched, and his presence was significant — whether or not everyone always agreed,» Furey said, echoing a theme that Critch touched upon in his own remembrances.

Critch told CBC News that he'd «only known a world with Rex in it,» explaining that he grew up next to a radio station where his father worked, along with Murphy.

«As a little boy, I remember seeing this man with wild hair in a golden turtleneck, listening to music with dad at the house and he was larger than life,» Critch said Thursday.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper, in a tribute posted on social media, remembered Murphy as «one of the most intelligent and fiercely free-thinking journalists this country has ever known.»

In another social media tribute, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called Murphy «an icon, a pioneer of independent, eloquent and fearless thought, and always a