Murray Rankin KC (born January 26, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, politician and public law expert who served as British Columbia's Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation from 2020 until 2024.

A member of the New Democratic Party, Rankin represented the riding of Oak Bay-Gordon Head in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2020 until 2024.

[1][10] Rankin is a vegetarian,[1] lives in Victoria, British Columbia, and is married to Linda Hannah,[11] whom he met at a founding board meeting of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee.

[14] He also represented the Blueberry River First Nations in the negotiation of the first economic benefits agreement relating to natural resources revenues in British Columbia.

He also advised BC Hydro in the landmark agreement with two tribal councils related to the construction of the Lower Mainland Transmission Project.

[16] Rankin was later retained as a special advisor to Colin Gabelmann, the former Attorney General of British Columbia and was a key architect of BC's own Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

[8][17] Rankin was former legal counsel to the Security Intelligence Review Committee, received a top-secret clearance, and conducted terrorism hearings.

[18][19][20] As Member of Parliament, Rankin gained recognition as a strong opponent of the Harper Government's C-51 "Anti-Terrorism Act", arguing that the bill violated constitutional rights and would not protect Canadians.

[18] In 2017, Rankin was appointed by the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to the newly formed National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.

[8][23] In February 2019, the BC Government announced that Rankin had been appointed as B.C.’s representative to help guide and design the reconciliation process between the Province and the Office of the Wetʼsuwetʼen.

[26] In September 2012, Rankin announced his intention to seek the NDP nomination to become the federal Member of Parliament for Victoria following Denise Savoie's retirement.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair immediately named Rankin to a senior role in his shadow cabinet as National Revenue Critic.

[35][38] A CBC and ICIJ investigation later revealed a massive data leak which proved that hundreds of Canadians were exploiting tax havens, including Liberal Senator Pana Merchant.

[43][45] In his role as Health Critic, Rankin was recognised for bringing all parties together for a unanimous vote to compensate survivors of thalidomide poisoning.

[5][46][47] The victims, whose mothers were prescribed the federally approved drug for insomnia and morning sickness, were born with partial or missing limbs, blindness, deafness and internal organ damage.

"[46][47] In May 2015, the Government agreed to provide victims of the drug annual payments of up to $100,000, depending on the severity of their disability, roughly on par with existing compensation levels in Germany and Britain.

"[50] Weeks after being sworn in as Member of Parliament, Rankin was barred from entering the Harper government's "public hearing" on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines in his Victoria constituency, a project he opposed.

[59] On 6 November 2017, Rankin was appointed by the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister, to the newly formed National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.

[65] In a farewell speech in June 2019, Rankin called for urgent work towards reconciliation with indigenous peoples and addressing the climate crisis.

British Columbia became the first province to release an action plan dedicated to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People in Canada.

[68] Rankin stated that, "We must make the province a place where the human rights of Indigenous Peoples are respected, celebrated and finally implemented in every aspect of society.

"[68] In June 2022, Tahltan Central Government and the Province entered into the first consent-based decision-making agreement under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

[69] In 2022, Rankin was appointed acting attorney general and minister responsible for Housing following David Eby's declaration that he was running to become BC's next premier.