The Hon. R. Roy McMurtry

This comprehensive oral history interview with Roy McMurtry covers his distinguished career in Canadian law and politics, spanning from his early family background in Toronto through his transformative roles in Ontario’s legal system. Born in 1932, McMurtry emerged from a business family background to become one of Canada’s most influential legal figures, serving as Ontario’s Attorney General from 1975-1985 and later as Associate Chief Justice and Chief Justice of Ontario from 1991-2007.

As Attorney General under Premier Bill Davis, McMurtry played a pivotal role in Canada’s constitutional development, working alongside Roy Romanow and Jean Chrétien as a key architect of the 1981 constitutional accord and Charter of Rights and Freedoms. His tenure was marked by significant legal reforms including court administration modernization, the expansion of legal aid clinics, enhanced race relations initiatives, and the controversial extension of separate school funding to Grade 12 in 1984. Throughout his career, McMurtry demonstrated a commitment to judicial independence, diversity in appointments, and access to justice, while managing complex constitutional challenges and federal-provincial relations during critical periods in Canadian history.

This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.