James Downey OC (April 20, 1939 – March 23, 2022) was a Canadian academic.

At Carleton University, where he began his career, he held a series of academic and administrative posts, including chairman of the English department, dean of the faculty of arts, vice-president (academic) and interim president for the first five months of 1979.

His publications include The Eighteenth Century Pulpit (Oxford University Press, 1969), Fearful Joy (McGill-Queens University Press, 1973), Schools For A New Century and To Live and Learn (reports of the New Brunswick Commission on Excellence in Education, 1992, 1993), Innovation: Essays by Leading Canadian Researchers, edited with Lois Claxton (Key Porter Books, 2002), and Lord Beaverbrook and the Kennedys (University of New Brunswick, 2012).

In an interview with The Record Valerie Hill writes: "He had a tremendous impact on Sarah growing up, his daughter said.

"[3] In 2005, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Royal Military College of Canada.