No one in Canada wrote like Rex Murphy. A thundering prose peppered liberally with humour and sarcasm and frequent lyrical flourishes, he expressed what mattered to Canadians in their bones. The best opinion writers persuade by tapping into deep emotions. And Rex wasn’t just among the very best, he stood above us all. A true polemicist, his words combined to conjure feelings of anger, glee, disgust or relief. It didn’t matter what the topic, whether it was the latest outrage in Parliament, or his beloved home province of Newfoundland, Rex ensured his readers felt what he felt.