Brenda Murphy

For the Irish playwright, see Brenda Murphy (playwright).

Her Honour the Honourable Brenda Murphy OStJ ONB
File:Brenda Murphy throne speech (cropped).jpg Murphy in 2020
32nd Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
Incumbent
Assumed office September 8, 2019
Monarch	Elizabeth II Charles III
Governor General	Julie Payette Mary Simon
Premier	Blaine Higgs
Preceded by	Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau
Personal details
Born	1958 or 1959 (age 65–66)
Domestic partner	Linda Boyle

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.

Murphy is the first openly LGBTQ person to hold any viceregal office in Canadian history.

Career

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. She served on a federal advisory council on poverty, and on New Brunswick's advisory council on the status of women.

Lieutenant-governor

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.

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. However in May 2024, the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick overturned this judgment.

Honor & Awards

Ribbon Bar of Brenda Murphy

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Ribbon	Description	Post-nominal letters	Notes
	Officer of the Order of St. John	OStJ
100x100px	Member of the Order of New Brunswick	ONS
100x100px	Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal		Canadian version
100x100px	King Charles III Coronation Medal		Canadian version

Personal life

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.

Arms

Arms of Brenda Murphy

File:Brenda Louise Murphy Escutcheon.png

Crest A butternut tree Or leaved Purpure fructed Argent issuant from a circlet Or the upper rim set with purple violets Proper. Escutcheon Per bend wavy Or and Purpure a bend wavy counterchanged between in chief an orca enarched Purpure embellished Argent and in base semé of mayflowers Argent seeded Or. Supporters Two snow geese Argent beaked and legged Or their exterior wings elevated and embellished standing on a cable ferry Purpure its railing Argent issuant from a bar wavy Argent charged with a barrulet wavy Purpure. Motto Every Voice Matters