Jean-Daniel Lafond

Jean-Daniel Lafond was born in 1944 in Désertines

Lafond was born on August 18, 1944, in Désertines, France, during the liberation of Paris. He attended classes given by Michel Foucault and Michel Serres.

From 1971 he taught philosophy and did research in audio-visual training and communications. In 1974 he moved to Quebec, and he became a Canadian citizen in 1981. He taught at the Université de Montréal, then left to work on film, radio and writing.

In 2005 his wife was nominated Governor General, and he faced claims that he was a Quebec separatist. She wrote that neither of them had ever joined a party or the sovereigntist ideology. His 2006 documentary about David Belfield was criticized by the National Post as too sympathetic.

He has two daughters from his first marriage and an adopted daughter with Michaëlle Jean. He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2005 and joined the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 2010.