Tim Murphy
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- This page is about the Canadian politician; for the American politician from Pennsylvania, see Tim Murphy (congressman).
Timothy John Murphy (born August 7, 1959 in Barrie, Ontario) is a former politician and the current chief of staff of the Canadian Prime Minister's Office.
Murphy has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University (1982) and a law degree from the University of Toronto. He practiced law with Blake Cassels and Graydon before entering politics, and also served as a special advisor to Attorney-General Ian Scott and a senior advisor to Ontario Minister of Education Sean Conway. In 1989-90, he ran Paul Martin's first unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Scott resigned his legislative seat in late 1992, and a by-election was called for April 1, 1993 to replace him. Murphy ran to succeed Scott as the Liberal members for St. George—St. David, and was successful, defeating Progressive Conservative Nancy Jackman by 2,232 votes.
St. George—St. David, which is now part of Toronto Centre—Rosedale, contains the largest gay community in Ontario. Although Murphy is not himself gay, he soon emerged as a leading spokesperson in the Ontario legislature for progressive legislation pertaining to the rights of same-sex couples. He was one of only three Liberal MPPs to support the Bob Rae government's proposed same-sex benefits package in 1994, and was critical of Liberal leader Lyn McLeod's decision to oppose the bill.
Murphy was defeated in the 1995 provincial election, losing his seat to Progressive Conservative Al Leach by 337 votes (New Democrat Brent Hawkes was a close third, and many believe that it was only the Liberal-NDP vote split which allowed Leach to win). Murphy has not run for political office since this time. He returned to practicing law with McCarthy Tétrault, and served for a time as president of the Ontario Liberal Party.
On June 28, 2001, Murphy was hired by Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin as a senior political advisor. When Martin became Prime Minister in late 2003, he appointed Murphy as his chief of staff. Murphy is now considered to be one of the most influential figures in the Canadian Prime Minister's Office, helping formulate policy matters as well as coordinating meetings with ministers and departments and with foreign heads of state.