Dean French has been a resident of Etobicoke for over 20 years and has been actively involved in local, provincial and national community service.
Dean has been married to Jane for more than 23 years and they are the proud parents of Joe, Ben and Emily. Dean graduated with a Business degree from Bishop’s University, Lennoxville, Quebec in 1991.
Dean is the founder of Dean French Advisor Co., where for more than 20 years, he has specialized in providing advice and counsel to family business owners and to their advisors.
In 1999, Dean and his wife Jane started Phoenix Montessori School right here in Etobicoke Ward 3. Jane grew the school from 15 children in their eldest son's class to 140 students at which time the business was sold to a staff member, fully 10 years after the school started.
Dean is a former Big Brother and past member of the United Way Cabinet. Indeed, community service has always been important to him. Currently Dean is in his sixth year of coaching his daughter's rep basketball team, and over the years he has coached both of his sons' lacrosse teams at Mimico and St. Michael’s College School.
In 2012, the Toronto District School Board unexpectedly announced a more than 300% increase in gym permit fees directly impacting many non-profit and youth organizations across the city. Dean was asked by the Etobicoke Basketball Association to present on behalf of the EBA at the October TDSB meeting. Dean also facilitated meetings with TDSB staff, Trustees and City Councillors in order to find a solution to the increase.
Dean first got involved with municipal politics as a member of an Etobicoke resident's association and this experience would later impact his decision to run as City Councillor.
Dean's volunteer work as a grass roots community activist was covered by the national and local media, including the National Post, CFRB and the Etobicoke Guardian in 2007 and 2008. Together with the six other members of the executive, Dean collected petition signatures door-to-door, put up awareness lawn signs, raised over $140,000, organized town hall meetings, met with Toronto Councillors and presented at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).
Following the 2010 municipal election, Dean served as Vice-Chairman of the Mayor's Harmony Dinner, working as a city bridge builder with former Liberal Premier David Peterson and Progressive Conservative leader John Tory to raise over $1 million dollars to go towards the Ford, Rossi and Thompson mayoral campaign debts.
Currently the volunteer Chairman of Team Canada Lacrosse, Dean has has served in the past as Senior Advisor on the Federal Leader of the Opposition’s transition team, the Bishop's University Board of Governors, and was recognized with a Provincial Order in Council appointment on the Ontario College of Pharmacists, serving as Finance Chairman.
Dean's corporate and community experience, combined with his commitment to make a difference, provides a great foundation for the challenges ahead as Councillor of Etobicoke, Ward 3.
Dean is inspired to ensure that Etobicoke residents' rights come first and not last in the city planning process. To that end, Dean French is running in the 2014 municipal election to be Ward 3 Councillor for Etobicoke.
Please contact Dean French via phone 647-567-3734 or email:[email protected]
To know about what's important to Dean and the people of Ward 3, please visit
the web site: www.deanfrench.ca and Facebook: www.facebook.com/votedeanfrench
