Law360 Canada (August 24, 2026, 12:56 PM EDT) --

Shelan Markus

When we think about leadership development, we tend to picture executive education, MBA programs or leadership retreats. We imagine professionals preparing to lead organizations, governments or businesses. But what if one of Canada’s most important leadership development systems isn’t happening in boardrooms at all?

What if it’s happening in elementary school and high school classrooms, community centres, libraries and community organizations where young people are learning about their legal rights, justice systems and how to advocate for themselves and others?

For decades, public legal education (PLE) has been viewed primarily as a public service to help people understand the law, increase their legal capacity, navigate opaque legal systems and make informed decisions. Those are important goals. But they also describe something much bigger. Public legal education may be one of Canada’s most overlooked leadership development pathways.

Leadership is often associated with titles and positions of authority. Yet, at its core, leadership is the ability to understand complex systems, think critically, make informed decisions, communicate effectively across differences, solve problems and create positive change. These are the skills that high-quality public legal education develops.

When a young person learns how to advocate for themselves at school, understand systemic issues in the legal system, navigate the justice system or participate in civic life, they are doing far more than learning legal information. They are developing the confidence and skills to understand systems, ask thoughtful questions, resolve conflict and engage constructively in their communities. These are leadership competencies and the evidence increasingly supports this broader understanding.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines global competence as “the capacity to examine local, global and intercultural issues, to understand and appreciate the perspectives and world views of others, to engage in open, appropriate and effective interactions with people from different cultures, and to act for collective well-being and sustainable development.” These are also leadership competencies, which involve upholding integrity and respect, collaborating with partners, mobilizing with people from a variety of walks of life and achieving innovative results with a clear vision and strategy.

Similarly, the OECD argues that legal capability extends well beyond knowledge of the law. It includes the knowledge, skills, confidence and personal attributes people need to recognize issues, make informed decisions and use the law to resolve problems in their lives. These capabilities form the foundation for enabling people to participate more fully in their communities and democratic institutions.

Taken together, these ideas point to something we rarely acknowledge: public legal education is not simply increasing legal literacy. It is building leadership capacity.

This distinction matters because the leadership challenges facing Canada today are increasingly complex. Climate change, reconciliation, misinformation, artificial intelligence, access to justice and growing social polarization require leaders who can navigate complexity, evaluate competing perspectives, collaborate across differences and make ethical decisions. Those skills do not suddenly emerge when someone becomes a lawyer, executive, elected official or community leader. They begin much earlier. They begin when young people first learn how systems work, how they can think critically about them and then, how they can influence them.

Public legal education also develops something many traditional leadership programs overlook: justice literacy. An understanding of fairness, rights, responsibilities and the rule of law shapes how future leaders exercise power, resolve conflict and build trust. Leaders who understand justice are better equipped to create inclusive workplaces, ethical organizations and stronger communities.

This is particularly important in a country as diverse as Canada. Through discussions about rights, responsibilities, Indigenous legal traditions, discrimination and systemic barriers, public legal education encourages young people to consider multiple perspectives, challenge assumptions and engage respectfully across differences. These experiences cultivate empathy, critical thinking and thoughtful decision-making. And these are the qualities we increasingly expect of effective leaders.

Yet despite these outcomes, public legal education is rarely recognized as part of Canada’s leadership infrastructure. Leadership investments often focus on professionals who are already established in their careers through executive education, graduate programs or leadership institutes. These initiatives are valuable, but they reach people after many of their leadership habits, civic values and ways of thinking have already begun to form.

Public legal education reaches people much earlier. This education helps young people discover that they have rights, that their voices matter and that they have the ability and responsibility to shape the communities around them. It develops the confidence to ask questions, speak up, challenge injustice, collaborate with others and participate in civic life. If we are serious about strengthening Canada’s future leadership, we need to broaden our understanding of where leadership development begins. I believe it begins long before someone’s first management role or elected office.

It begins when young people learn to understand systems, navigate complexity and believe they can make a difference. Canada already has a leadership development system hiding in plain sight. We call it public legal education. Perhaps it is time we started recognizing and investing in it accordingly.

Shelan Markus is the executive director of Level Justice, a leading national justice education and human rights charity.

The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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