Roy McMurtry

Roland Roy McMurtry (May 31, 1932 – March 18, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and politician in Ontario. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1985, serving in the cabinet of Bill Davis as Attorney General and as Solicitor General.

Patriating the Constitution McMurtry was a Red Tory, and he was one of Davis's closest advisers in government. As Attorney-General, he had been a primary negotiator for Ontario in the Trudeau-era constitutional negotiations. He appeared as counsel for Ontario in the Patriation Reference before the Supreme Court of Canada. In November 1981, he played a major role in brokering the deal that achieved patriation of the Canadian Constitution and the creation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A late-night "kitchen accord" between McMurtry, Jean Chrétien and Roy Romanow on 6 November 1981 broke a deadlock in negotiations, and resulted in the governments of all provinces except Quebec agreeing to the proposed reforms to the Constitution, which came into law the following year.

Susan Nelles prosecution One of McMurtry's lowest points was his role in the prosecution of nurse Susan Nelles, who was charged with the murder of a number of infants at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The charges were dropped following a preliminary hearing and Nelles was exonerated by the Grange Commission, a royal commission called upon to examine the deaths. McMurtry was criticized for his Ministry's role in her wrongful prosecution. In a 2007 interview, McMurtry, looking back at the incident, said "I can remember that I had been away with my family on a school break, when I came back and saw the headlines, I brought in my deputy attorney-general, and said: 'What the hell is going on here? You've had a nurse arrested at one of the world's most famous hospitals?' " McMurtry said that local prosecutors failed to consult the ministry before consenting to the charges and that examining the case McMurtry had doubts that Nelles had exclusive access to all of the children.

Bathhouse raids McMurtry was also Attorney-General at the time of the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids which were widely denounced as one of the most socially regressive acts in the province's history. McMurtry was a member of Pro Bono Law Ontario's Advisory Board.

, McMurtry was president of the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, which made several oral histories and co-published two of his books: Memoirs and Reflections (Toronto: The Osgoode Society and the University of Toronto Press, 2013) Essays in the History of Canadian Law: Volume X – A Tribute to Peter Oliver (Toronto: The Osgoode Society and University of Toronto Press, 2008), 471 pp. (editor with Jim Phillips and John T. Saywell)

Personal life McMurtry was married to Ria Jean Macrae, with whom he had six children and 12 grandchildren. His eldest son, Jim McMurtry, ran as a Liberal in British Columbia in the 2006 federal election, placing second to Conservative Russ Hiebert. In 2025 Jim published "The Scarlet Lesson" .

McMurtry was a landscape painter, originally taught by A.J. Casson, and donated pieces to charity auctions.

A Red Tory, McMurtry expressed dislike towards the Stephen Harper government from 2006 to 2015, claiming it suffered from a lack of compassion, as well as for causing more division in Canadian politics. McMurtry supported Eric Hoskins in the 2013 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election and Peter Elgie, Green Party of Canada candidate for the York-Simcoe riding in the 2014 Ontario general election and son of Robert Elgie, a Red Tory Progressive Conservative who served as Minister of Labour from 1978 to 1982 and MPP for York East from 1977 to 1985.

McMurtry died on March 18, 2024, at the age of 91.

Honours In 2007, McMurtry was awarded the Order of Ontario. In 2009, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his distinguished career of public service, notably as chief justice of Ontario, and for his extensive volunteer involvement in many social and multicultural initiatives".

In 2013, McMurtry was given the G. Arthur Martin medal for outstanding contributions to criminal justice. He served as the 12th Chancellor of York University from 2008 to 2014.

The headquarters of the Attorney General of Ontario, the "McMurtry-Scott Building", is named in honour of McMurtry and Ian Scott (Attorney General from 1985 to 1990).

A juvenile detention centre located in Brampton called "Roy McMurtry Youth Centre" was named in honour of McMurtry.