Tony McQuail was born in 1952 in Pennsylvania, USA. As a 16-year-old he did draft counselling at the local Quaker Meeting House. His draft counseling convinced him he could not cooperate with that corrupt system. He initially planned to go to prison but realized he would have to be a tax resister when released. He emigrated to Canada in 1971.He worked as a hired hand on a dairy farm and on a barn construction crew. In 1973 he purchased a run down 100-acre farm in Huron County, Ontario. While farming, he went to university and graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo in 1976. He became a Canadian citizen in 1977. As a young farmer he realized that decisions made in Ottawa could have a serious impact on his community and farm. He ran as the NDP candidate in the 1980 Federal election.He has run 5 times federally and twice provincially for the NDP. He served three terms as an elected trustee on the Huron County Board of Education during the 1980’s. In the early 90’s he served as the Executive Assistant to the Hon. Elmer Buchanan, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.McQuail has been extensively involved in community and volunteer organizations, including the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario, the Huron Farmers Union and the Huron Federation of Agriculture.McQuail and his wife, Fran, ran Meeting Place Organic Farm, a 100-acre regenerative farm, for over 40 years before selling it to their daughter. In the 1970’s they built a passive solar home and put up the first modern grid connected wind generator in Ontario. They currently have 10 kW microfit solar array and solar water heater. They live on the farm, helping with the farm and their grandchildren.