Robert Broughton Bryce, , (February 27, 1910 July 30, 1997) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

civil servant.

Biography

After graduating with engineering degree from the

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

, Bryce undertook graduate studies in economics at

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, where he was influenced by the ideas of

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist and philosopher whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originall ...

. In the fall of 1935, he left Britain for

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where, as a graduate student, he introduced

Keynesian economics Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomics, macroeconomic theories and Economic model, models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongl ...

in the United States, with the help of fellow Canadian

Lorie Tarshis Lorie Tarshis (22 March 1911 – 4 October 1993) was a Canadian economist who taught mostly at Stanford University. He is credited with writing the first introductory textbook that brought Keynesian thinking into American university classrooms, t ...

. According to

John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the ...

Joseph Schumpeter Joseph Alois Schumpeter (; February 8, 1883 – January 8, 1950) was an Austrian political economist. He served briefly as Finance Minister of Austria in 1919. In 1932, he emigrated to the United States to become a professor at Harvard Unive ...

"called Keynes Allah and Bryce his Prophet". Bryce started working for the Department of Finance in 1938, later becoming assistant deputy minister of Finance and Secretary to the Treasury Board. In 1954, he became clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. He retired in 1968 as deputy minister of Finance.

Works

He is the author of ''Maturing in Hard Times: Canada's Department of Finance Through the Great Depression'' (McGill-Queen's Press, 1986, ). His other book, ''Canada and the Cost of World War II: The International Operations of Canada's Department of Finance, 1939-1947'' (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005, ), edited by Matthew J. Bellamy, was published after his death. Leading a group of long-serving bureaucrats who gave Canadian government a sense of stability and consistency, Bryce served as secretary to the cabinet and clerk of the Privy Council under Liberal Louis Saint-Laurent and Conservative John Diefenbaker for nine years (1954–1963). This group continued through five administrations, from Mackenzie King to Pierre Trudeau. Bryce was appointed to chair the Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration in May 1975. He resigned due to illness before its completion, and can be considered to be one of the authors of the report.

Honours

In 1968, he was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

"for his services to Canada in various important posts of public administration". He received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

(1961), the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

(1970),

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

(1970) and the University of British Columbia (1980).

References

External links

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Robert B. Bryce fonds
1910 births 1997 deaths Canadian non-fiction writers Clerks of the Privy Council (Canada) Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Keynesians 20th-century Canadian economists Writers from Toronto Canadian federal deputy ministers {{Canada-gov-bio-stub