| Birth Date: | August 31, 1933 |
| Birth Place: | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation: | administrator |
| Alma Mater: | McGill University |
John Timothy Irvine Porteous, CM (August 31, 1933 – February 11, 2020) was a Canadian administrator.
A native of Montreal, he studied at Bishop's College School, Selwyn House School[1] and McGill University, where he earned both a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of civil law.[2] Porteous first met Pierre Trudeau in 1957 when the two were students traveling in West Africa for a World University Service of Canada seminar, for which Porteous represented McGill, where he had previously been responsible for the outstanding 1957 student production of My Fur Lady, which he co-wrote.
He and Trudeau remained friends and became even closer when Porteous took a two-year leave of absence from his law practice in 1966 and went to Ottawa to work as an executive assistant to Treasury Board president Charles Drury, before volunteering as a speechwriter on Trudeau's 1968 leadership campaign.
He is credited with introducing Trudeau to Margaret Sinclair, who Trudeau later married.[3]
When Trudeau won the Liberal Party leadership campaign, on becoming Prime Minister later in 1968 he offered Porteous a job as his executive assistant, a position he held for five years.[4] After his time in government, Porteous went on to head both the Canada Council and the Ontario College of Art and Design.
Porteous was perhaps best known for his 12-year tenure as associate director and director of the Canada Council.[5] He was appointed to be a Member of the Order of Canada in October 2003, in recognition of his public service.