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. He served as deputy chair of the Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce.