Frank de Jong was born in Ontario in 1955 to Dutch immigrant parents and grew up on a dairy farm north of Guelph. Living on the land in the close-knit community of Arthur strongly influenced de Jong’s views, which he describes as socially progressive, fiscally conservative and environmentally aware.

Leader of the Green Party of Ontario since 1993, Frank has been thinking globally and acting locally for a long time. In the 1980s, was active in campaigns to ban nuclear weapons, to support women’s right to choose, to save Ontario's old growth forests, and to promote human rights in Central America. He joined the then-fledgling Green Party in 1987, attracted by its holistic approach to the environment, the economy, health care and other issues.

He is a strong proponent of true cost pricing, green tax shifting, 100% renewable electricity, preventive health care, an end to poverty, funding for non-religious public schools only, minimal tuition, walkable communities linked by rail, bio-based manufacturing and total waste diversion.

Frank has been an elementary schoolteacher for 25 years. He holds a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario, and a B.Ed. from the University of Ottawa. He lives in Toronto with his partner, writer and artist Kelley Aitken.