Roland "Roy" McMurtry, Jr.

1985 Leadership Campaign	1985 Leadership Campaign	1985 Leadership Campaign
1985 Leadership Campaign

DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: 1932.05.31 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

OCCUPATION: Lawyer.

POLITICAL PARTY: Progressive Conservative (PC).

SENIOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:
Canadian High Commissioner to Great Britain (1985-1988).

ONTARIO PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE (MPP):
1985.02.08 - Resigned to accept a federal appointment.
1981.03.19 - Eglinton - Re-Elected.
1977.06.09 - Eglinton - Re-Elected.
1975.09.18 - Eglinton - Elected.
1973.03 (By) - St. George - Defeated.

SENIOR ONTARIO PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT:
Chief Justice of Ontario, Ontario Court of Appeal (1996-2007).
Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice (1994-1996).
Associate Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice (1991-1994).
Attorney General (1975.10.07 - 1985.02.08).
Solicitor General (1978.09.11 - 1982.02.13).

PARTY LEADERSHIP:
Candidate for Leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, January 1985. First ballot: 4th place (out of four candidates) with 300 votes - 17.5%. McMurtry was eliminated after the first ballot, and subsequently endorsed Larry Grossman for Leader.

MISCELLANEOUS:
Chairman & CEO, Canadian Football League, 1988-1991.

As Attorney General, McMurtry played a major role in brokering the deal for patriation of the Canadian Constitution and the creation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A "kitchen accord" between McMurtry, Attorney General of Canada Jean Chrétien and Saskatchewan Attorney General Roy Romanow in November 1981 played a significant role in ending the federal-provincial constitutional deadlock and allowed the Constitution come into law the following year.

As Chief Justice of Ontario, he wrote the 2003 court ruling in Halpern v. Canada, which held that same-sex couples must be permitted to obtain the full recognition of marriage. The ruling declared that the traditional definition of marriage improperly discriminated against gay and lesbian couples pursuant to the Charter of Right's guarantee of equality under the law. This ruling paved the way to legalized same-sex marriage throughout Canada.

WEBSITE: Osgoode Hall: McMurtry Art Exhibit