Laurier mourns Professor Emeritus Baldev Raj 

Dec. 7, 2022

Wilfrid Laurier University mourns the passing of Baldev Raj, professor emeritus in the Department of Economics at the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, who passed away on Dec. 4. He was 81. 

Baldev was a professor at Laurier for 34 years and is remembered for his kindness, wisdom, infectious laugh and commitment to the field of economics. An accomplished time-series econometrician, Baldev was named University Research Professor in 1989 – the first economist at Laurier to receive the honour.

Baldev’s work has been widely published in journals including the International Economic Review, the Journal of Applied Econometrics, the Journal of the American Statistical Association, the Journal of Economic Inquiry, and the Journal of Business and Economics Statistics. Baldev also served as co-editor of the Empirical Economics Journal and mentored many Laurier students. 

An active member of the Waterloo Region community, Baldev served on the board of directors for the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery and helped form the Canadian South Asian Club. He also enjoyed international travel and visited 29 countries. 

Born in India, Baldev completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Delhi before immigrating to Canada, where he completed a master’s and doctoral degree at Western University.

Baldev leaves behind his wife of 51 years, Balbeer, their son Rajul, daughter-in-law Radhika, and grandchildren Jais and Sahaas.  

A memorial service will be held Dec. 7 at 10 a.m. at the Kitchener Funeral Home and Crematorium, 3 Forwell Rd. in Kitchener. The service will also be live-streamed on Zoom. Please use meeting ID 829 9594 4164 and passcode 616929.