Born in Germany, he was raised and educated in Toronto. He received a Ph.D in sociology from University of Toronto. In 1981, he married Frum Himelfarb, and they have three children. He was a professor of sociology at the University of New Brunswick from 1972 to 1981. He authored two introductory textbooks on sociology with co-author C. James Richardson that were used extensively in Canadian universities in the late 1970s and early 1980s. These were:
People, Power and Process
Sociology for Canadians
He has published numerous monographs, chapters and articles on Canadian society and public policy and co-edited with his son Jordan the book Tax is Not a Four-Letter Word. He started with the Canadian public service in 1981 joining the Department of the Solicitor General of Canada and served in senior positions in various departments and agencies including the Parole Board, Justice, Citizenship and Immigration, the Privy Council Office, and Treasury Board, and led the Task Force on the Social Union. In 1999, he became Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage. In 2002 he was appointed to the dual role of Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. On June 14, 2006, he was appointed Ambassador to Italy, with concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Albania and the Republic of San Marino, and as High Commissioner in the Republic of Malta, and as Permanent Representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme and to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, in Rome. He retired as ambassador in 2009. In 2000, he was awarded The Outstanding Achievement Award, considered to be the most prestigious award in the Canadian public service. In 2006, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Memorial University in Newfoundland. In September 2009, Himelfarb was appointed as Director of the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs, at York University, retiring from that position in 2014 and made Director Emeritus. He is the founding Chair of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness with Tim Richter as Vice-Chair and Stephen Gaetz is secretary. The York-University based Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness based on the highly successful American model originated in 2000, also focusses on 10-year Plans to End Homelessness and Housing First approaches. He retired from this position in 2018. Himelfarb is chair of the World Wildlife Fund Canada and of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' Ontario Advisory Board. He is also on the Boards of several other non-governmental organizations including the Atkinson Foundation and the Narwhal.
