By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: Oct 2, 2015
QUITE a few little stories are attached to the streets and squares of Colonsay, a small town of 300 people in Saskatchewan, which calls itself the Isle of the Prairies and defines itself as a modern community of caring people. It’s here that the NDP candidate for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Riding, Larry Koopman, first learned about the importance of labour and community.
Koopman’s grandparents were among the early settlers who came in 1908 and settled in the prairies to make a new life from the land that had been offered to them and that Larry and his brothers tilled. The farming life in a small village provided a good model of collective work and mutually dependent community living. Helping each other was the unwritten code of the village life and Koopman grew up watching how people helped each other, without any expectation of money or things. When a farmer fell ill during harvest time, the neighbours would give their time and combines to harvest the fields, sure in the knowledge that the favour would be returned without asking if needed.
They say it takes a village to raise a community but in Koopman’s case, it was more than just a proverb. His mother died when he was four months old and his upbringing fell to the women and the men of Colonsay. That was a perfect example of the community spirit of cooperation, he says.
“Early on in life, I learned about the value of labour, working on the farm, and I learned about community and the need to pull together when times got tough,” Koopman says, recalling a childhood moral values of which are an innate part of who he is today.
Not surprisingly, the village’s collectivist view also shaped his family’s political leanings. His grandfather, Julius Koopman, joined the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, a party founded by socialist, agrarian, co-operative and labour groups. It later morphed into the present-day NDP and Koopman’s family believed strongly in its principles of freedom, social justice, liberty and equality of all. He grew up listening to the speeches of prominent NDP leaders such as Tommy Douglas, whose government first introduced the universal health care program. He says Martin Luther Jr, and Mahatma Gandhi are some of the world leaders whose ideals of equality inspire him.
It all goes back, Koopman says, to his childhood in the prairies where he saw in daily practice the ideals of social justice and direct community action. “I go back to growing up in the prairies. When someone was down and out, you helped them and you helped the less fortunate in your community and that is something that is deeply instilled in me to this day,” he says.
Koopman says those values are best upheld today by the NDP and by its leader Tom Mulclair, a man Koopman believes has integrity and the passion to serve Canada. Currently, Koopman is Sunshine Coast Community Coordinator for the Opportunities Fund, helping people with disabilities access employment training. He has also created, developed and managed the Greater Vancouver Business Leadership Network, educating employers about hiring people with disabilities. He is also the owner of a cottage rental business in Gibson for the last 14 years. Rooting for social justice in the shape of strong social services and yet growing a successful business are not mutually exclusive, he says. In fact, it’s a good combination as any government needs strong fiscal management and a robust economy to provide for all the social services, he says.
“I’m a business person, but I also understand the needs for good social programs and fiscal responsibility and both of these go hand in hand,” he says.
Since Koopman won the nomination to contest the federal election last fall, he says he has been working tirelessly to build the riding association, increase membership and get more people to donate to the campaign. One challenge for NDP, Larry acknowledges, is that even though it has a strong provincial presence, it hasn’t seen much success on a federal front from the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding. Raising funds to finance the campaign is another challenge Koopman and his team are tacking head on as they move from deficit to a surplus. But he is enjoying being on the campaign trail. The most rewarding part for him has been connecting to people in a diverse riding that stretches from Vancouver to Pemberton.
After completing high school, Koopman moved to Alberta where he worked at a sheet metal factory and then graduated with a degree in education and taught at a school in the early 80s, did several other jobs but finally landed a career with BC Centre for ability, where he helps people find work. He has also worked as a drummer in a band called Muskrat Alley Jazz band, which he formed with a few of his friends. In other lives, he has worked as a booking agent for musicals and a salesman for signs and awnings, which is of great help as he introduced himself to strangers. Along with the experience of a sales job, he is also driven by a need to tell people about the commitments and the values of his party.
Koopman and Lynn have been married for 34 years and together they enjoy the great outdoors and all that the region has to offer—including great hiking, skiing, canoeing and gardening. He is also a member of the Gibsons Curling Club. Even though his travelling with the band days are over, he says the musician in him is still alive.
“We played the night clubs, across taverns and bars in Alberta and BC, and I did that for a few years in my life so I don’t think it ever goes away,” he says with a chuckle.