David McKenzie Staines, CM OOnt (born August 8, 1946) is a Canadian literary critic, university professor, writer, and editor. Staines was born in Toronto, Ontario, and studied at the University of Toronto, where he obtained a BA in 1967, and at Harvard University, where he obtained an MA in 1968 and a PhD in 1973. In his studies of medieval literature Staines has examined the evolution of romance traditions, which resulted in a landmark new translation of the classic tales of Chrétien de Troyes: The Complete Romances of Chrétien de Troyes (1990). He is also an authority on Arthurian legends.