TORONTO, ON – Gundi Barbour, a teacher and president of the Upper Grand Teacher Local, has been elected to the provincial Executive of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO). Barbour previously served on the ETFO provincial Executive between 2017 and 2019.

“Politically, we are dealing with the merciless regime of Doug Ford. In June 2022, the Ford Tories must be defeated in order to reclaim public education in Ontario. Together, through collaborative work, we can achieve goals while defending attacks on social justice and public education. ETFO cannot make gains without strong, effective, committed leadership,” says Barbour.

Barbour started her teaching career in 1989 with the former Wellington County Board of Education, which later became the Upper Grand District School Board. She began her union experience as a school steward and served as a local Executive member and vice-president before being elected president of the Upper Grand Teacher Local in 2014. Barbour also served as chair of the status of women, political action, and first five committees and as a member of the Collective Bargaining Committee.

At the provincial level, Barbour has been chair of ETFO’s Special Education Standing Committee, acted as a Women in Action facilitator, and served as a member of a work group on fostering community engagement. From 2015 to 2017, she was also a mentor in ETFO’s first MentorCoaching Institute for Women.

ETFO represents 83,000 elementary public school teachers, occasional teachers and education professionals across the province. Its Building Better Schools education agenda can be viewed at BuildingBetterSchools.ca.

Media Contact: Carla Pereira, ETFO Media Relations, 416-576-9074 or cpereira@etfo.org.