RMC alumna Leah West, Class of 2007, has built an extraordinary career at the intersection of military service, law, national security, public policy, and academic leadership.
A former armoured officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, Leah served for 10 years and deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. She later transitioned into law and national security, serving with the Department of Justice’s National Security Litigation and Advisory Branch, clerking at the Federal Court of Canada, and appearing before courts and national security review bodies, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Today, she is an Associate Professor at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, where her work focuses on national security law, international humanitarian law, and cyber operations.
Leah is also a widely respected voice on national security and cyber policy. She has authored and co-authored significant scholarship, including National Security Law, and has been consulted by federal agencies such as Public Safety Canada, the Department of Justice, the Communications Security Establishment, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Her expertise has also been brought before the House of Commons, the Senate, and the European Parliament.
Most recently, Leah and her colleague Alex Wilner were awarded a prestigious SSHRC Partnership Grant to establish the Canadian Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence, a national network designed to strengthen Canada’s cybersecurity capacity through interdisciplinary education, research, and training. Based at Carleton’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, the initiative brings together researchers from four Canadian universities and partners from government, industry, and the non-profit sector. It will help train more than 160 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers while advancing work in areas such as emerging technologies, critical infrastructure protection, national security, foreign interference, research security, democracy, privacy, and human rights.
From her time at RMC to her military service, legal career, and academic leadership, Leah’s path reflects the very best of a Royal Military College education: service, discipline, intellectual courage, and a commitment to Canada. Her work continues to influence some of the most important conversations facing our country today, particularly as Canada prepares the next generation of leaders to respond to complex digital and national security challenges.
