Canadian Police Association Executive Leadership Program

About the Program

The Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa has partnered with the Canadian Police Association since 2009 to deliver a very successful, national, three-module program in Executive Leadership.

Those who complete all three modules will receive a special ‘Professional Certificate in Executive Leadership’ offered jointly by the Telfer School of Management and the Canadian Police Association. 

The three modules are offered over a 12-month cycle. Participants can join the program at anytime and the modules do not need to be taken in any specific order.

Module I - Leadership, Advocacy and Communications: May 1 - 3, 2025

• Leadership development and performance                                        
• Advocacy and government relations
• Media and communications

Module II - Advanced Negotiations and the Psychology of Bargaining: September 29 - October 1, 2025

• Bargaining
• Negotiation
• Member Issues

Module III - Strategic Choices, Implementation and Governance: To be confirmed

• Strategy choices and planning,
• Implementation of strategic plans
• Governance

Who Should Attend?

The program is designed primarily for elected leaders and executive staff of the constituent associations of the CPA and their international colleagues.  Representatives of other employee associations or unions will also be invited to participate.

What You Will Learn

The objective of Module I is to help participants develop leadership skills which enable them to exercise effective leadership, taking into account the diverse needs of associations which rely on volunteers. The focus is on understanding individual leadership styles, appreciating differences and learning how to build team leadership which allows associations to grow and evolve while meeting new challenges. The ability to communicate effectively to internal audiences and external stakeholders is essential to the exercise of leadership. Clarity of objectives and strategy and concise messages are equally important. An understanding of media relations can help maximize positive impact and to minimize negative consequences. Effective advocacy is also a major challenge – to identify partners and stakeholders, to align the membership, to have realistic objectives and to identify the ’influencers’ who can get to decision-makers. Instructors will lead a number of exercises which will help participants learn how to meet these challenges, including small group exercises, role playing and mock media events. 

Program Takeaways

• Ability to lead strategy formulation and implementation in a membership-based organization 
• Improved skills in communication and working with the media 
• Understanding of how to develop and lead advocacy programs with member support 
• Awareness of leadership styles and skills, especially those best-suited to membership based organization 

Program Facilitators

Elaine Bernard, Ph.D.

Facilitator

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Elaine Bernard, Ph.D.

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Facilitator

Elaine Bernard is a Senior Research Associate and the former Executive Director of the Labor and Worklife Program and the Harvard Trade Union Program at Harvard Law School.  The Labor and Worklife Program (LWP) is Harvard University’s forum for research and teaching on the world of work and its implications for society.

Before being recruited by Harvard in 1989, Bernard was the Director of Labour Programs at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia.  Born in Trenton, Ontario and raised in Ottawa, Bernard received a BA from University of Alberta, MA from University of British Columbia and a Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University.  She has conducted courses on a wide variety of topics for unions, community groups, universities and government departments in Canada, U.S., U.K. and Australia.  Her current research and teaching interests in union leadership and democratic governance.

Recognizing the division among police labour organizations in the U.S. and the need for labour education and networking opportunities for police unions, Bernard worked with police union leaders to establish an annual police union leaders’ seminar in the U.S.  Bernard is a member of the recently established Management Advisory Board for the RCMP with a mandate to provide the Commissioner with outside expertise and advice on transformation, human resources, modern management practices, information technology and other specialized fields.

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Bill Cole

Facilitator

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Bill Cole

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Facilitator

Bill Cole has represented labour unions in the public and private sectors for almost four decades. His practice has focused on collective bargaining, interest arbitration and organizational development. His clients include police, firefighters, airline pilots, health care workers, steelworkers, and many others in the public and private sectors. He has represented unions in more than one hundred and fifty interest arbitrations as spokesperson or nominee. For negotiations he has assisted clients with a full range of services including advanced training, strategy development, negotiator coaching or being the voice at the table.

Bill is a Senior Research Associate at Harvard’s Center for Labor and a Just Economy where his research includes negotiations and organizational development. He is a regular speaker at Harvard’s Trade Union Program.

He is the co-author of The Art of Collective Bargaining.

Responding to the widely held concerns among union leaders about member disengagement, Bill began examining this question at the doctoral level. His research examines the relationship between leaders and followers, with an emphasis on members’ commitment and participation in their unions. He speaks widely on this topic and works with unions on renewal strategies to build member engagement.

Bill is a “goalie-dad” who spends a lot of time in a lot of hockey rinks.

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