Robert James Campbell Stead (4 September 1880 – 25 June 1959) was a Canadian novelist.

His first book, The Empire Builders and Other Poems was published in 1908 and for the next 23 years, until 1931, he continued a steady flow of novels, short stories and books of verse, which enriched the portraiture of Canadian prairie life.

As described by Terrence Craig, "In his early poetry, such as The Empire Builders and Other Poems (1908), Stead mixed with styles of Service and Kipling to produce a virulently nationalist concept of Canada and Canadians.

This strain was continued when he turned to novels in 1914, and wartime tensions seemed to exacerbate his prejudices.

[1] For a significant period, Stead worked in the immigration department of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Calgary, where he produced "reams of rose-hued prose extolling the clean, healthy vigour of life in the open spaces—spaces opened courtesy of the CPR and available at good prices.