His father, George, was a longtime municipal politician in Hungerford Township and ran unsuccessfully in the riding of East Hastings for the Liberals in the 1948 provincial election.
He was educated in Marlbank, Tweed and at Regiopolis in Kingston, and attended teacher's college in 1949 following completion of Grade 13.
[1] He began his teaching career at CFB Petawawa, eventually rising to the position of principal after eight years.
Jordan was an Ontario Liberal Party candidate in the 1987 provincial election, losing by fewer than 200 votes to Progressive Conservative incumbent Bob Runciman.
His son Joe Jordan secured the Liberal nomination in Leeds and Grenville that year, and succeeded his father as MP in the 1997 election.