[1] Cochran served the Canadian military as a member of the West Nova Scotia Regiment throughout the duration of World War II (1939–1945) rising to the rank of captain.
Cochran entered provincial politics in the 1974 election, defeating Liberal James Kinley by 208 votes in Lunenburg Centre.
[5] In June 1979, he was appointed Minister of Tourism and served in that position for the rest of time in public office.
[1] In November 1983, Cochran resigned from his government duties, citing health reasons,[6] and died in the United States (Rye, NY) in January 1984.
[1] His wife, Maxine Cochran succeeded him as MLA and went on to become Nova Scotia's first female cabinet minister.