John Sylvain (June 7, 1924 – August 16, 2011) was a Montreal insurance executive who was named to the Senate of Canada by Brian Mulroney in 1990.
The British born Sylvain had headed United Provinces Insurance Co. Ltd. and served as a director on the Canadian Development Investment Corporation.
During the 1988 federal election he was campaign manager for Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Robert Layton in the Montreal-area riding of Lachine—Lac-Saint-Louis.
[2] He served as deputy chair of the Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce.
[3] He is the brother in law of financier and Power Corporation of Canada chairman Paul Desmarais, Sr.[4]