Robert Wolfe is Professor Emeritus in the School of Policy Studies of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Originally from Toronto, he has a B.A. in History from York University (1974), an M.A. in Canadian Studies from Carleton University (1976) and a doctorate in Political Studies from Queen’s University (1995). He joined the then Department of External Affairs in 1976 as a foreign service officer in the political/economic stream, serving abroad in Dhaka, Bangladesh (1977-79) and in the Canadian Delegation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris (1981-85). In Ottawa he worked in the National Security Section; the U.S. Trade and Economic Relations Division; as Executive Assistant to the Ambassador for Multilateral Trade Negotiations and Prime Minister’s Personal Representative, Economic Summit (Sylvia Ostry); and in the International Economic Relations Division. He retired from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (now Global Affairs) in 1995.
Wolfe joined the faculty of the School of Policy Studies in July 1995 where he taught the required course on policy analysis in both the full-time and part-time Masters in Public Administration programs. He also taught an optional course on trade policy. He retired in 2017.
His ongoing research interests include Canadian trade policy, the World Trade Organization, and transparency mechanisms.
Wolfe is a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for International and Defence Policy, a member of the editorial board of World Trade Review and a member of the Trade Expert Advisory Council, Global Affairs Canada.
He was the lead director of the Annual Queen’s Institute on Trade Policy from 2009 through 2018.