Born in what is now the ghost town of Victoria Mine, Ontario, he was raised playing outdoor hockey in the town of Coniston, Ontario near the city of Sudbury in Northern Ontario. Blake played junior and senior hockey in the Sudbury area and was part of the 1932 Memorial Cup champions, the Sudbury Cub Wolves. He played for the Hamilton Tigers of the Ontario Hockey Association before joining the Montreal Maroons of the NHL in 1934, then playing for the Montreal Canadiens until his retirement in 1948. He won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion in 1938-39. After retiring from the Canadiens he resided permanently in Montreal, raising his children and subsequently where his grand children were raised. The "Toe" Blake Tavern, which he owned, became a succesful watering hole in Montreal and "la belle province".

After coaching minor hockey, he was the head coach for the Canadiens from 1955 to 1968, winning eight Stanley Cup titles - the most for any coach in the team's history and second in the NHL.

Considered one of the greatest coaches in the game, Toe Blake was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966 and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1982. He also had a park located next to his Montreal West home named in his honor.