Jordan Peterson grew up in Fairview, Alta., northwest of Edmonton, and received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from McGill University. He is a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, a clinical psychologist and author of 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos.

Peterson has worked as a dishwasher, bartender, beekeeper, plywood mill labourer and railway line worker, among others. He has also consulted for the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Sustainable Development, advised senior partners of major law firms, lectured extensively and helped clinical clients manage conditions including depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. The Spectator has called him “one of the most important thinkers to emerge on the world stage for many years.”

Peterson’s online self-help program, The Self Authoring Suite, has been featured in O: The Oprah Magazine and on CBC radio, and his online lectures have been viewed more than 35 million times on YouTube. One of his newest projects is a series of live theatre lectures called “The psychological significance of the Biblical stories.”

Peterson lives in Toronto with his wife, and recently became a grandfather.

“Without free speech there is no true thought.”