John Curtis is currently a Senior Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, an Adjunct Professor at Queen’s University, and Chair of Statistics Canada’s Advisory Committee on International Trade Statistics. As well, he teaches international economic policy at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.
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 having earlier served in a number of economic policy positions in several departments. Following that, he became a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation.
Throughout his career, his focus 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.