Kenneth Harold Norrie (born 1946) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

economic historian specializing in the economy of

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

at the turn of the century. Born in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Norrie received his undergraduate degree from the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and his PhD from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. He spent much of his career at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

, serving as chair of the Department of

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

and then as dean of the

Faculty of Arts A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

(1999–2001). He was provost of McMaster University from January 1, 2002, succeeding psychologist

Harvey Weingarten Harvey Weingarten (born June 24, 1952) is a Canadian academic. He served as president of the University of Calgary from 2001 to 2009. He was previously the provost and Vice-president Academic of McMaster University. He is a psychology and medical r ...

who had left to become

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

. On September 22, 2006, Norrie suddenly resigned the provost position and resumed teaching and research activities as a member of the Faculty of Social Science. Since then he has been appointed as

Vice-President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

(Research) of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. Norrie is perhaps best known for his work with prairie

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

farming. He was a key researcher for the MacDonald Commission of the early 1980s, which recommended signing the Canadian-American Free Trade Agreement.

Publications

The National Policy and Prairie Economic Discrimination, 1870–1930

Notes

1946 births Living people 20th-century Canadian historians Canadian male non-fiction writers Writers from Saskatoon University of Saskatchewan alumni Academic staff of the University of Alberta 21st-century Canadian historians {{Canada-historian-stub