Timothy John Murphy (born August 7, 1959) is a former Canadian politician and was the chief of staff of the Prime Minister's Office under Paul Martin's government.
Although Murphy is not himself gay,[citation needed] he soon emerged as a leading spokesperson in the Ontario legislature for progressive legislation pertaining to the rights of same-sex couples, introducing a private member's bill in 1993 which would have partially extended spousal benefits.
[5] Murphy was defeated in the 1995 provincial election, losing his seat to Progressive Conservative Al Leach by 337 votes while New Democratic candidate Brent Hawkes was a close third.
After the Martin government was defeated in the 2006 federal election, Murphy returned to Toronto where he joined the law firm of McMillan Binch Mendelsohn.
[10] He is a frequent commentator on CBC News Network's Power & Politics, and has also written articles for Policy Options, The Walrus, Canadian Public Administration Journal and The Globe and Mail, Ottawa Citizen and Toronto Star.