Sylvia Ostry (née Knelman) (born June 3, 1927) is a Canadian economist and public servant.
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ostry received a Bachelor of Arts in economics from McGill University in 1948, a Masters of Arts from McGill in 1950, and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University and McGill in 1954.
From 1952 to 1955 she was a lecturer at McGill, becoming an assistant professor from 1952 to 1955, and becoming Associate Professor at the University of Montreal from 1962 to 1964.
From 1972 to 1975, Ostry was Chief Statistician of Canada 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 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris. From 1984 to 1985 she was Deputy Minister, International Trade, and Coordinator, International Economic Relations.
From 1991 to 1996, she was Chancellor, The University of Waterloo. In 1997 she was appointed Chancellor Emerita, University of Waterloo.
From 1997 she is the Distinguished Research Fellow, Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto.
Awards
- In 1978 she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
- In 1987 she received the Government of Canada Outstanding Achievement Award
- In 1990 she was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada.
- In 1991 she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
Honours
- Ostry received honourary Doctorate of Laws degrees from:
