Chris Cowley, President
Chris Cowley is the 82nd President of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF). Chris also previously served as OTF’s 74th and 78th President, making him the first President in OTF’s history to serve three terms.
Chris obtained his honours B.A., B.Ed and M.Ed. at the University of Western Ontario. Since 2004, he has been teaching Canadian and World Studies and Religious Studies at St. John’s College in Brantford.
He has contributed beyond the classroom in various extracurricular activities, including coaching baseball and serving as students’ council faculty advisor.
Since 2005, Chris has been active in the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), both locally and provincially. At the local level, he served ten years on the executive of the Brant Haldimand Norfolk OECTA Unit as well as Political Advisory Chair and on a range of committees including Professional Development, Staffing and Bargaining.
As a member of the OECTA Provincial Executive, Chris served as OTF Table Officer from 2015 to 2023 and as provincial Vice-President from 2023–2025, representing teacher’s interests at numerous provincial, national, and international tables.
His interest in business and economic issues is a natural fit for his role at OTF, the co-Sponsor of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Chris’ career has been guided by his dedication to publicly funded education, the teaching profession, OTF members, and students. Chris knows that Ontario teachers have always been committed to building an education system that works to advance Ontario’s values, and he looks forward to building on the legacy of past OTF presidents in defence of quality publicly funded and delivered education for all students in
the province.