John Ward trained as an architect at the Bartlett School, University College, London, in the 1980s. John moved to Canada in 1990 and completed a Masters in the Conservation of the Built Environment at the Faculté d’Amenagement, Université de Montréal, between 1992-95, since then he has worked in the field of built heritage conservation.
Since 1996, John has lived and worked in Ottawa, firstly with the Heritage Conservation Services (HCS), Public Works and Government Services Canada, and from 2010 to 2023, as a Preservation Development Advisor with the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI). Between 2006-07 John worked for a year with the City of Vancouver as a Heritage Planner. While both with HCS and CCI, John was involved on planning for major projects relating to rehabilitating the Canadian Parliamentary and Supreme Court buildings, as well as on other heritage buildings and sites across Canada.
John has been a member of ICOMOS Canada since the mid 1990s, and served as a Vice President between 2007-12. In 2011, John joined the ICOMOS Shared Built Heritage International Scientific Committee (ISCSBH), which includes colonial and transnational built heritage. He has served as committee secretary between 2015-19 and has returned to this role for the term 2024-27. Since 2019, John joined the newly founded Commonwealth Heritage Forum and participates on the International Advisory Committee.