Murray Rankin was first elected as Member of Parliament for Victoria in 2012 and, until recently, served as the New Democratic Party's Critic for Justice and for the Attorney General. He also served as Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Previously, he was critic for various portfolios, including National Revenue, Pensions, and Health.
In 2015, Mr. Rankin helped bring all parties together for a unanimous vote to compensate survivors of thalidomide poisoning. In December 2016, he was elected Vice-Chair of the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying, which advised on the government's response to the Supreme Court's decision relating to medical assistance in dying.
Prior to serving in Parliament, Mr. Rankin was a Professor of Law at the University of Victoria, where he taught administrative and environmental law. He helped build legal organizations such as West Coast Environmental Law, the Land Conservancy of British Columbia, the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre, and the Environmental Law Centre. Working with the provincial government, he negotiated treaties with First Nations and shaped British Columbia’s laws for privacy and freedom of information.
In 1990, he co-founded the law firm of Arvay Finlay, where his practice focused on public law matters. In 2006, he joined a national law firm.
Murray Rankin earned a Master of Laws from Harvard University (LL.M.), after graduating from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.). Mr. Rankin’s graduate research at Harvard Law School focused on freedom of information and national security. He later served as legal counsel to the Security Intelligence Review Committee and as a special advocate under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, conducting hearings on issues of national security.
In 2017, Mr. Rankin was appointed by the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister, to the new National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.
Mr. Rankin and his spouse, Linda Hannah, reside in Victoria, B.C. and have two sons, Benjamin and Mark.