Mike Clancy was born in London, Ontario and raised in St. Thomas. He received a degree in religious studies and ethics from the University of Waterloo in the 1970s. Clancy was an employment counsellor with the federal employment and immigration department and its successor, Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), from 1980 until quitting in 1997. When he left his job, he said that he could not administer its program under terms that he considered "immoral and unethical." He strongly supported government funding for social programs and health care, and criticized both federal and provincial governments for cutting back these services.