Born in Thorold, Upper Canada, Keefer began his career as an engineer working on the Erie and Welland Canals. He first gained prominence in 1850 through the Philosophy of Railways, an eloquent and persuasive essay promoting railway development. This gave him wide influence during the railway building era, although he built no lines himself. His public works, particularly the Hamilton, Montreal and Ottawa waterworks, established his reputation as an hydraulics engineer throughout the continent and abroad. He was a founding member and first president of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers. He died in Ottawa.