Dr. Jeff Collins is the inaugural Director of the Palmer Canadian Leadership Institute in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where he convenes national conversations on leadership, public policy, and Canada’s role in a rapidly changing global environment. The Institute operates within the Confederation Centre of the Arts, home to the Symons Medal and the Charlottetown Forum.

Prior to joining the Centre in May 2026, he built a distinguished career spanning academia, defence, and public policy. He served as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Prince Edward Island, where he was recognized with both a University Teaching Excellence Award and the Hessian Merit Award for Excellence in Teaching for his innovative teaching in defence policy and megaproject decision-making.

Beyond academia, Collins held senior policy leadership roles with Canada’s Department of National Defence and the Government of Prince Edward Island. At National Defence, he contributed to the development of Canada’s first Defence Industrial Strategy and Defence Supply Chain Resilience Strategy. In Prince Edward Island, he served in several key policy roles, including trade negotiator and founding co-chair of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement’s Procurement Committee.

Collins is a recognized authority on Canadian defence policy, defence procurement, and strategic affairs. His research and writing examine the policy, institutional, and operational challenges shaping Canada’s defence posture and broader approach to international security. He is the author of Reassessing the Revolution in Military Affairs (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) and Canada's Defence Procurement Woes (2023), and is currently completing a third book, Defending Canada in the 21st Century: A Primer, under contract with the University of Toronto Press.

A 2024-25 Action Canada Fellow, he is a member of the Banff Forum Board and has been recognized as a New Security Leader by the Warsaw Security Forum, reflecting his leadership and contributions to national conversations on Canada’s security and strategic future.

He holds a PhD in Political Science from Carleton University, an MA in International Relations from the University of Birmingham, a law degree from the University of Aberdeen, and a BA and Certificate in Public Administration from Memorial University of Newfoundland.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS BY JEFFREY F. COLLINS

Key allies want to know where Canada stands on China and Russia
Budget 2022 comes ‘nowhere close’ the Liberals’ lofty rhetoric on defence spending
A defence budget increase will need a policy rethink

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