Colonel-Maître Michel W. Drapeau

Professor Michel William Drapeau was born and raised in Sillery, Province of Québec. Prior to joining the legal profession, Professor Drapeau first served 34 years in the Canadian Armed Forces between 1959 and 1993.  He graduated from the civil law program in 1999 and the common law program in 2000 at the University of Ottawa. He clerked at the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada under the supervision of the Honorable Justice Gilles Létourneau. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2002 and the Quebec Bar in 2021. In 2009, he was named Adjunct Professor. 

Professor Drapeau is in the private practice of law in all areas of administrative law, in particular, military and veterans law, access to information and privacy law, human rights law, employment law (grievances, workplace harassment) as well as civil litigation. (www.mdlo.ca).  He has appeared before the Federal Court of Appeal, the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, the Quebec and Ontario Superior Court and a host of administrative tribunals.  He is a member of the Internation Society for Military Law and the Law of War and the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law.

He served on the Board of Governors, Collège militaire royal (Saint-Jean, Québec) from 2007 to 2012 and on the Board of Governors, Saint-Paul University from 2012 to 2019.

Professor Drapeau lectures on Access to Information and Privacy Law and Canadian Military Law at the Faculty of Law at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

In September 2011, Professorr Drapeau appeared as a speaker at a Conference in Rhodes, Greece on “Military Jurisdictions” by the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War. In August and September 2013, he appeared before a US Congressional Panel on Response Systems on Military Justice in Washington, D.C., USA. In October 2013, he presented a paper at a Global Seminar on Military Justice Reform at Yale Law School.

Military Law:

• “Soldiers’ Grievances: A morale and leadership barometer” Canadian Bar Review. 2025
• Co-author with the Honorable Mr. Justice Gilles Létourneau: “Canada’sMilitary Justice System is in a meltdown: will government Act?” 2021
• Co-author with the Honorable Mr. Justice Gilles Létourneau: “Modernization of Canadian Military Criminal Justice : Behind the Times.” 2017
• Co-author with the Honorable Mr. Justice Gilles Létourneau: “Military Justice in Action” (2nd ed.), Thompson Carswell. 2015
• Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (Military Law). Thompson Carswell. 2010
• Co-author with the Honorable Mr. Justice Gilles Létourneau: “Canadian Military Law Annotated”. Thompson Carswell. 2006
• Author of an article titled ''Sentencing under the National Defence Act: Perspectives and Musings of a former soldier'', published in the Canadian Bar Review.  2003
• «What Happens when Canadian Soldiers Commit Crimes Abroad», prepared as part of a research project in International Criminal Law sponsored within the conference The Highway to the International Criminal Court: All Roads lead to Rome hosted by the Faculty of Law, Université of Montréal and the Canadian Institute of the Administration of Justice whose proceedings were published by Les Éditions Thémis. 2003

Federal Access to Information and Privacy Law:

• Co-author with Me Joshua M. Juneau: “Federal Access to Information and Privacy Legislation – Annotated” (24th  annual ed.) published by Thomson Carswell. It is published yearly since 2002 in both hard cover and as a loose-leaf supplemented edition. 2026
• Co-author with Me Marc-Aurèle Racicot of Fundamentals; “Privacy and Freedom of Information in Canada”,  published by Thomson Carswell, Toronto. 2010
• Co-author with Me Marc-Aurèle Racicot: “Canadian Encyclopedic Digest” (4 ed.) Privacy and Freedom of Information, , published by Thomson Carswell. 2010
• Co-author with Me Marc-Aurèle Racicot: “Protection of Privacy in the Canadian Private and Health Sectors”. (7th ed.) published by Thomson Carswell,  2007

Intellectual Property Law.

• Co-author with Me Daniel S. Drapeau: ''The Taming of John Doe Orders by the Federal Court of Canada'' In the Canadian Intellectual Property Review. 2001
• Co-author with Me Daniel S. Drapeau: ''A Canadian-Wide Solution to Counterfeiting: The John Doe Order'' in Trademark World - London, UK. 2001
   

Military Service

Enrolled in 1959, Colonel Drapeau served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 34 years, holding several positions both in Canada and overseas. He is a graduate of the CF Command and Staff College (Toronto) 1975; the U.S. Armed Forces Staff College, U.S. National Defence University (Norfolk, Virginia) 1977; the U.S. Army Military Comptrollership School (Indianapolis) 1978; and, the National Defence College (Kingston Ontario) 1988.  At the end of his military career, he held the dual positions of Director of the Executive Secretariat at National Defence Headquarters and Secretary of the Armed Forces Council

Diplomatic service

In 1984, Colonel Drapeau was seconded to the then Secretary of State Department to act as the Deputy Coordinator for the 1984 Royal Visit by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and his Royal Highness Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburg for their visit to New Brunswick, Ontario, and Manitoba.

Federal Public Service - Canada

Upon retirement from the Canadian Forces, le Professor Drapeau accepted a two-year appointment at the executive level within the Federal Public Service. Reporting to the then Deputy Minister and the Chief of the Defence Staff, he served as Acting Director General Corporate Management Services at National Defence Headquarters.

Candidate for 1997 federal election

In 1997, Professor Drapeau ran as a candidate in the Thirty-sixth General Election in the electoral district of Orléans, Ontario.

In recognition for ''outstanding military service'', in 1990 Colonel Drapeau was named to the Order of Military Merit (OMM) in 1990. He also holds also the Canadian Forces Decoration, First and Second Clasp. In 1993, Colonel Drapeau was awarded the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada in recognition of his ''significant contribution to Canada''.

In 2002, Professor Drapeau was awarded the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth ll. In 2012, for his “important contribution to the welfare of veterans”, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 2025 he was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal.

In 2022, he was awarded the Distinguished Award by the Ontario Bar Association which recognizes his “exceptional career contributions and achievements to the legal profession. “

In 2025, he was awarded a Doctorate (Honoris Causa) by Saint-Paul University in Ottawa.

In April 2025, he was awarded the Order of Canada. His citation reads as follows:

“Colonel-Maître Michel Drapeau is a leader in military and veteran law. He founded the first Canadian practice specializing in military administrative law, playing an instrumental role in its recognition as an official legal discipline. As a prominent scholar and practitioner, he continues to shape the landscape of Canadian law.”