Cameron (Cam) Kowalski spent over three decades serving in policing roles throughout Canada with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (E Division). During his career, he led some of the largest and most complex security operations in Canadian history, including his role as lead aviation security planner for both the 2010 Olympics as well as the G8/G20 Summits. He served as the airspace security commander for the multi-agency (NORAD, RCAF, FAA, Transport Canada, NAVCANADA, CBSA, and CATSA), multi-national effort responsible for the execution of both aviation plans. Cam received multiple awards for his leadership of these operations which included; The Meritorious Service Medal of British Columbia; Chief of Defence Staff Commendation (CAF); E Division Commanding Officer’s Commendation (RCMP); and most notably, a personal letter of thanks from President Barack Obama. Prior to his retirement in 2018, Cam served as the Emergency Manager in the Divisional Emergency Operation Centre (DEOC) at the RCMP Headquarters in Surrey, BC.
Following his retirement, Cam served as the Director of Safety and Security for the Great Canadian Rail tour Company, Ltd. (Rocky Mountaineer),which included strategic oversight of all safety, security and emergency management initiatives for the largest private rail company in the world. During his tenure, he led security upgrades for all passenger stations including the main terminal on Cottrell St. in Vancouver and the operations centre in Kamloops, BC. Additionally, he developed and oversaw 2 Full Scale Exercises (FSX), testing the overall response capabilities of the organization. These FSXs were the largest in the province and included a myriad of 15 local, provincial, federal, rail and First Nations partners/participants. Prior to accepting the role with CPCoE, Cam worked with RCMP Protective Operations - National Division (Ottawa) where he served in a multitude of roles including the lead private security planner for the 2023 POTUS (Biden) visit to Ottawa.
Academically, Cam received his Master’s degree in Leadership from Royal Roads University in 2018. His Thesis entitled; “Strengthening the Capabilities to Lead Police Officers Following Exposure to Trauma” has been published multiple times with his work appearing in periodicals, peer reviewed journals and quarterly online magazines.
Cam sat on the board of directors for Emergency Preparedness for Industry and Commerce Committee (EPICC), the steering committee for Emergency Preparedness British Columbia (EPBC) conference as well as the awards committee for the International Association of Women in Policing (IAWP). He is currently a volunteer at the Cancer Assistance Program (CAP) serving on several committees and driving cancer patients to their respective appointments.
Cam is a native Hamiltonian and is thrilled and honoured to be a part of the CPCoE as the Director of Operations. He is a staunch mental health advocate and is hoping to be involved in additional research into this topic.
