Wilfred I. "Wilf" Smith (May 20, 1919 – July 28, 1998) was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 public servant and Dominion Archivist

Library and Archives Canada

Library and Archives Canada is a national memory institution dedicated to providing the best possible account of Canadian life through acquiring, preserving and making Canada's documentary heritage accessible for use in the 21st century and beyond...

 from 1970 to 1985.

Born in Port La Tour

Port La Tour, Nova Scotia

Port La Tour is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Barrington Municipal District of Shelburne County.The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada erroneously assert that Fort Saint Louis is located at Port La Tour. The fort at Port La Tour was Fort Lomeron . ...

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, Smith received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1943 and a Master of Arts degree in 1946 from Acadia University

Acadia University

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

. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

.

Smith joined the Public Archives of Canada in Ottawa in 1950. He was chief of the Manuscript Division (1963–1964), director of the Historical Branch (1964–1965), Assistant Dominion Archivist (1965–1968) and Acting Dominion Archivist (1968–1970). From 1970 to 1984, he was Dominion Archivist.

He was President of the Society of American Archivists

Society of American Archivists

The Society of American Archivists is the oldest and largest archivist association in North America, serving the educational and informational needs of more than 5,000 individual and institutional members...

 from 1972 to 1973.

Honours

In 1985, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

in recognition for having "developed the Public Archives of Canada into a world-class institution".