Colin Boyd Shafer (b. 1983) is a Canadian documentary photographer and social sciences educator born in Kitchener, Ontario. Shafer holds an MSc in Political Economy of Violence Conflict and Development from SOAS, University of London.
In 2016, Shafer was chosen by the Governor General of Canada to photograph inspiring Order of Canada recipients. These portraits are featured in Figure 1 Publishing's "They Desire A Better Country" (2017), a book that commemorates Canada’s 150th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the Order of Canada.
Shafer's recent photography projects include INTERLOVE which tells interfaith love stories in Ontario, and Cosmopolis Toronto, a project that features someone from every country of the world who now calls Toronto home.
Shafer's work has been featured widely in the media, including National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, The Globe and Mail, The New Internationalist, BBC News, 6Mois, Foto8, F-Stop Magazine as well as CTV, CBC and Global National News channels. Shafer also presented on his project Cosmopolis Toronto at TEDxToronto and at the United Nations Alliance of Civilization's Global Forum.
Shafer currently lives in his hometown Kitchener, where he is putting together a Region of Waterloo Arts Fund-supported visual project about Victoria Park (@victoriaparkkitchener). In 2022, Shafer's hardcover book "Finding American: Stories of Immigration from the 50 States" will be released by Figure 1 Publishing Inc.