Sylvia Ostry (; June 3, 1927 – May 7, 2020) was 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 ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

and public servant.

Life

Born Sylvia Knelman in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

on June 3, 1927, she received a

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 year ...

in economics from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

in 1948, a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

from McGill in 1950, and eventually earned her PhD from

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...

in 1954.

After studying at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, she was a lecturer at McGill, becoming an assistant professor from 1952 to 1955, and becoming Associate Professor at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

from 1962 to 1964. From 1972 to 1975, Ostry was

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 ...

at Statistics Canada. From 1975 to 1978, Ostry was Deputy Minister, Consumer and Corporate Affairs. From 1978 to 1979, she was Chairman, Economic Council of Canada. From 1979 to 1983, she was Head of the Department of Economics and Statistics of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. From 1984 to 1985 she was Deputy Minister, International Trade, and Coordinator, International Economic Relations. Later, in 1986 Ostry became a member of the influential Washington-based financial advisory body, the

Group of Thirty The Group of Thirty, often abbreviated to G30, is an international body of financiers and academics which aims to deepen understanding of economic and financial issues and to examine consequences of decisions made in the public and private sec ...

. During the 1988 G7 Summit in Toronto, Ostry served as Canada's sherpa. From 1991 to 1996, she was Chancellor,

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...

. In 1997 she was appointed Chancellor Emerita, University of Waterloo. From 1990 to 1997, she was Chair of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

's Centre for International Studies. Since then she has been a Distinguished Research Fellow there. She was married to the late

Bernard Ostry Bernard A. Ostry, (June 10, 1927 – May 24, 2006) was a Canadian author, philanthropist, and civil servant, who is best known for being chair and CEO of TVOntario. Born in Wadena, Saskatchewan, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the ...

, with whom she had two children, Adam Ostry (a senior federal civil servant himself) and Jonathan D. Ostry (Deputy Director, Research Department,

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

). She died in Toronto on Thursday May 7, 2020.

Awards

* In 1972 she was elected as a

Fellow of the American Statistical Association Like many other academic professional societies, the American Statistical Association (ASA) uses the title of Fellow of the American Statistical Association as its highest honorary grade of membership. The number of new fellows per year is limited ...

* In 1978 she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

* In 1987 she received the Government of Canada Outstanding Achievement Award * In 1990 she was promoted to Companion of the

. * In 1991 she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada * In 2009 she was made a Member of the Order of Manitoba. * In 2010 she was awarded The Couchiching Award for Public Policy Leadership

Honours

* Ostry was awarded 18 honorary Doctorate of Laws degrees from: **

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Ameri ...

in 1971 **

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in 1971 **

in 1972 **

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

in 1973 **

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

in 1973 **

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

in 1973 ** Queen's University in 1975 **

Brock University Brock University is a public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The university bears t ...

in 1975 ** Mount Allison University in 1975 **

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

in 1981 **

American College of Switzerland The American College of Switzerland (ACS) was a business school and liberal arts college in Leysin, Switzerland in the canton of Vaud. History The American College of Switzerland, based in the Swiss village of Leysin (Vaud), was founded by Dr. ...

in 1983 **

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gra ...

in 1984 **

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Concordia University (Montreal) Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

in 1986 **

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universi ...

in 1987 **

in 1997 ** a Doctorate of Management Sciences from

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

in 1976 ** a Doctorate of Letters from Laurentian University in 1977 In 1997, a lecture series was begun in her honour by

Sadako Ogata , was a Japanese academic, diplomat, author, administrator, and professor emerita at the Roman Catholic Sophia University. She was widely known as the head of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from 1991 to ...

, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Some of the lectures in the series were published in a book in 2003.

Select publications

The Medium and the Message''
Bissell Paper No. 3. Toronto: University of Toronto, Centre for International Studies, 1988
Europe and the Economic Summits''
Paper presented at the All-European Canadian Studies Conference, The Hague, October 24–27, 1990. Unpublished in print
''Globalization and the G8: could Kananaskis set a new direction?''
O.D. Skelton Memorial Lecture, Queen's University, March 2002. Unpublished in print

References

External links

Sylvia Ostry archival papers
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ostry, Sylvia 1927 births 2020 deaths Canadian economists Jewish Canadian scientists Chancellors of the University of Waterloo Companions of the Order of Canada Canadian women economists Fellows of the American Statistical Association Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada McGill University alumni Members of the Order of Manitoba Scientists from Manitoba Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge People from Winnipeg University of Toronto people