Toope graduated from Harvard College in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in English Literature and European History.

[13] His service to the community includes serving on the boards of organizations that promote human rights and international development, including the Canadian Human Rights Foundation, the World University Service of Canada, the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances [14] and Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

In a 2018 op-ed he criticized British politicians for "condemning UK universities as broken and in need of market discipline.

"[15] During his annual university address,[16] in 2020 he announced Cambridge was removing fossil fuel investments from its portfolio.

[17] On September 20, 2021, Toope announced he would be stepping down as vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, two years short of completing his seven-year term.

[21] Toope took up residence in Cambridge in 2018, along with his wife, Paula Rosen, a speech-language pathologist and musical theatre composer.