Wayne R. Smith was the

Chief Statistician of Canada The chief statistician of Canada (french: statisticien en chef du Canada) is the senior Civil service, public servant responsible for Statistics Canada (StatCan), an agency of the Government of Canada. The office is equivalent to that of a Deputy m ...

from 2010 to 16 September 2016. He was appointed interim Chief Statistician in 2010, after the

controversial Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite ...

resignation of

Munir Sheikh Munir Sheikh (born 1947) is a Canadian economist. Early career Born in Pakistan in 1947, Sheikh received a Master of Arts in economics from McMaster University in 1970, and earned his doctorate in economics from the University of Western Ontario ...

, and appointed Chief Statistician on 19 January 2011. Smith graduated with honours in

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

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 ...

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. He has worked for StatsCan since 1981. During his career at StatsCan, Smith has been the Director of the Communications Division, the Director of Special Surveys Division and Director General of Regional Operations Branch and the Assistant Chief Statistician, Communications and Operations. He was also the Assistant Chief Statistician of Business and Trade Statistics Field. Smith resigned as the Chief Statistician of Canada unexpectedly on 16 September 2016. He resigned over issues regarding the lack of independence for the organization, specifically regarding issues with

Shared Services Canada Shared Services Canada (SSC; french: Services partagés Canada (SPC)) is an agency of the Government of Canada responsible for advancing, consolidating and providing information technology services across federal government departments. It was est ...

and the inability to operate to the agency's full potential.

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References

20th-century Canadian civil servants 21st-century Canadian civil servants Carleton University alumni People from Chilliwack Year of birth missing (living people) Living people {{Canada-gov-bio-stub