Member of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: May 8, 2014
• Invested on: September 12, 2014

For her contributions to the establishment of international development studies as an interdisciplinary academic field, and for her research on political economy in the Caribbean.


Kari Polanyi Levitt helped establish international development as a field of academic study in Canada. A professor of economics at McGill University since the early 1960s, she was also a founding member of the Canadian Association for the Study of International Development. Her analysis of the expansion of multinational corporations in Canada sparked widespread debate among experts in the field of economics, and her extensive knowledge of the economic systems of Caribbean countries has made her a sought-after adviser to national governments and development organizations.