John Godfrey
Head of School, Toronto French School; former MP, Don Valley West, Ontario.
Last Contribution:
Decency
Contributor Biography
Dr. Godfrey is Head of School at Toronto French School, a co-ed independent school for students from pre-kindergarten to university entrance, with campuses in Toronto and Mississauga. Dr. Godfrey is fluently bilingual in English and French.
Prior to joining TFS in July 2008, Dr. Godfrey was a Member of Parliament and a nationally known academic, author and editor. Dr. Godfrey’s education includes completing secondary studies at Upper Canada College and Neuchatel Junior College, in Switzerland; completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto; and earning an M. Phil, and D. Phil in Modern French History from Oxford University, in England. Dr. Godfrey began his career at Dalhousie University in Halifax, where he was professor of French History and Modern European History for 17 years and was highly regarded as a teacher. For ten of those years, he also served as President of the University of King’s College. During his tenure at King’s, he increased student enrollment dramatically, established a new School of Journalism, and had great fundraising success. He then gained national profile as Editor of The Financial Post. He has also been the Vice President of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, which specializes in social, economic and scientific issues. Dr. Godfrey is a widely published writer and co-authored The Canada We Want: Competing Visions for the New Millennium.
Dr. Godfrey represented the Federal riding of Don Valley West from 1993 to 2008. He held a variety of senior parliamentary positions including Chair of the Caucus Committee on Environmental Sustainability. His experience includes serving as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister Responsible for la Francophonie, Chair of the National Children’s Agenda Caucus Committee, and Chair of the Standing Committee on Children and Youth at Risk. Dr. Godfrey also served in Cabinet as Minister of State for Infrastructure and Communities from 2004 to 2006. Dr. Godfrey is an articulate and energetic leader with a passion for education, children, and bilingualism and he is known for his international perspectives. He embodies the values that TFS strives to instill in our students.
