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

Brenda L. Murphy (born 1958 or 1959) is a Canadian activist and politician who currently serves as the 32nd lieutenant governor of New Brunswick, since September 8, 2019.^[3]

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.^[4] She served on a federal advisory council on poverty, and on New Brunswick's advisory council on the status of women.^[2]

Lieutenant-governor

Since September 8, 2019, she has served as lieutenant governor of New Brunswick. She is both the province's first openly LGBT lieutenant governor and the first openly LGBT person to hold any viceregal office in Canada.^[1]

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.^[5] However, in May 2024, the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick overturned this judgment.^[6]

On November 15, 2024, Louise Imbeault was announced as Murphy's replacement.^[7]

Honours and awards

Ribbon Bar of Brenda Murphy

Ribbon	Description	Post-nominal letters	Notes
	Dame of Justice of the Order of St. John	D.St.J	^[8]
	Chancellor of the Order of New Brunswick	O.N.B	^[8]
	Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal		^[8]New-Brunswick version
	King Charles III Coronation Medal		^[8]Canadian version

Personal life

Murphy 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.^[9]

Arms

Coat of arms of Brenda Murphy
	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^[10]