Urquhart attended McGill University, graduating in 1970.[2]
Urquhart was a city hall reporter for the Toronto Telegram.[1] In 1971, he moved to The Toronto Star where he was a city hall reporter.[1] In 1973, he moved to the Star's Ottawa bureau where he worked as a reporter.[1][2] Starting in 1975, he was the Ottawa and Washington, D.C. correspondent for Maclean's magazine for five years.[1] In 1980, he rejoined the staff of the Star, serving as Ottawa Bureau Chief.[1][2]
By 1983, he was promoted to national editor of the Star.[1] That year, the Star won a National Newspaper Award for its coverage of the Brian Mulroney leadership convention.[1] In 1985, the Star promoted him to editorial page editor.[1] He was the Star's managing editor between 1987 and 1993.[1]
After 1993, he returned to being a columnist for the Star, writing about Queen's Park.[1] In 2007, he returned to overseeing the newspaper's editorial page.[1]