John Curtis

John Curtis is currently an Adjunct Professor at Queen's University and Chair of Statistics Canada's Advisory Committee on International Trade Statistics. He also teaches international economic policy at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University and is advising the C.D. Howe Institute on a research agenda for its new international trade and investment program. Following his retirement from the Government of Canada, he was as well a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. In the Public Service of Canada for 35 years, Dr. Curtis was the founding Chief Economist of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Before that he served in a number of economic policy positions in several departments. His focus throughout his career has been on all aspects of international trade, most recently the relationship of trade to the domestic economy, particularly in the field of intellectual property, innovation, and competitiveness. With a strong interest in Asia over the years, he spent two years with the International Monetary Fund on Asian economic matters and some years later played a major role in the development of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, serving as the founding Chair of its Economic Committee. He was also involved in the work of the OECD Trade Committee and in the Government of Canada's private sector consultation process on trade policy. Dr. Curtis has an undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia and holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.