Born in Toronto, Canada was raised in the traditional way of things. He is the third of four sons of McAlister and Mary Canada. His parents' marriage ended in 1956, after which his father played little part in the children's life and did not contribute financial support.

Canada holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bowdoin College where he graduated in 1974 and a Master's degree in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Starting as president in 1990, Canada began working with the Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families which evolved into the Harlem Children's Zone. Unsatisfied with the scope of Rheedlen, Canada transformed the organization's makeup in the late 1990s into a center that would actively follow the academic careers of youths in a 24-block area of Harlem. Due to the success of the new model, the area has grown to 97 blocks.

The Harlem Children's Zone was profiled in 2004 in a story by Paul Tough in the New York Times Magazine, which described it as "one of the biggest social experiments of our time." In 2008, Tough published a book entitled Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America. Additionally, U.S. News and World Report named Canada one of America's Best Leaders in its October 2005 issue.

Along with having been featured in a number of print publications, Canada has made a number of high profile television appearances including a profile interview on 60 Minutestwo televised interviews with Charlie Rose, a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show,and two appearances on the Colbert Report. In 2010, he appeared in an American Express commercial that premiered during the Academy Awards and took an extended look at his work and success at the Harlem Children's Zone.

Having seen the success of the Harlem Children's Zone, in 2009 US President Barack Obama announced plans to replicate the HCZ model in 20 other cities across the nation.

Canada is prominently featured in Waiting for Superman (2010), a documentary on the state of American public education by Academy Award-winner Davis Guggenheim.

Canada's first book A Personal History of Violence in America was first released in 1995. In the book, Canada recounts his exposure to violence during his childhood and offers a series of recommendations on how to alleviate violence in inner cities.

In 1998, he published his second book, Reaching Up For Manhood: Transforming the Lives of Boys in America.