Murray Sinclair

The Honourable Murray Sinclair — former senator, judge and chair of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) — passed away on November 4, 2024. He was 73.

“Justice Sinclair was a tireless advocate for truth and justice, devoting his life to the service of others,” says Concordia President Graham Carr, who presented Sinclair with the university’s Loyola Medal in 2022. 

“Through his important work with the TRC, he challenged all Canadians, including those of us in the university sector, to learn our nation’s shameful history of oppression and violence against Indigenous peoples. We should be eternally grateful for his leadership and resolve, and for sparking the movement toward healing and reconciliation.”

“By honouring me in this way, Concordia has recognized that it can contribute to the conversation and call upon all Canadians to listen to Indigenous views on reconciliation,” said Sinclair.

Sinclair has been a champion for Indigenous peoples in Canada and a tireless advocate not just for truth and justice but also for education and action.

“His leadership as chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission challenged all Canadians to learn, reflect upon and confront this country’s long history of oppression, violence and discrimination against Indigenous peoples,” says Concordia President Graham Carr.

Sinclair graduated from law school in 1979 and began practicing in 1980, focusing on civil and criminal litigation, Indigenous law and human rights. In 1988, he was appointed associate chief judge of the Manitoba Provincial Court, becoming the province’s first, and Canada’s second, Indigenous judge.

Soon after his judicial promotion, Sinclair was made co-commissioner of Manitoba’s Aboriginal Justice Inquiry — an investigation into the presence of systemic racism in the province’s criminal justice system.

As a prominent Indigenous judge then appointed to the Court of Queen's Bench — Manitoba’s highest trial court — Sinclair was a natural pick to lead the TRC. 

“Children raised in Canadian society from 1867 onward were indoctrinated into believing that Indigenous people were inferior. It was taught to non-Indigenous children for seven generations and continues to be taught today,” he says.

“When Canada recognizes that, only then will we be able to say that we are on a significant part of the road to reconciliation.”

• Murray Sinclair (1951 – 2024): Lifelong champion of Indigenous rights
• View the Loyola Medal photo album on Flickr