Brenda Murphy

Career She served as a municipal councillor in Grand Bay–Westfield and 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 also served on a federal advisory council on poverty, and on New Brunswick's advisory council on the status of women.

Lieutenant-governor On September 8, 2019, she began serving as lieutenant governor of New Brunswick. She was both the province's first openly LGBT lieutenant governor and the first openly LGBT person to hold any viceregal office in Canada. She stepped down at the end of her term in 2025.

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. In May 2024, the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick overturned this judgment. However, in June 2026 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick must be able to perform their functions in both English and French.

Ms Murphy learned to speak French while in office.

Honours and awards

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