The family then moved to St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada in 1971, where he remained until he finished formal studies at Lakeport Secondary School and Brock University (1987–1989).
[1][2] After acquiring his bachelor's degree in business economics, Hopkins moved to Montreal to study with bassist Michel Donato, first within the confines of McGill University and then later privately.
He then attended the Banff School of Fine Arts to study with Rufus Reid, Kenny Wheeler, Steve Coleman.
Hopkins returned briefly to St. Catharines in 1992 and won an Ontario Arts Council Award to live and study in New York with Dave Holland.
Over the years Hopkins has performed with Diana Krall, Peter Appleyard, Warren Vache, Rob McConnell, Robert Farnon, John Hicks, Mark Murphy, Lester Bowie, Sam Rivers, Kenny Wheeler, Don Thompson, Moe Koffman, Norman Amadio, Scott Hamilton, Edward Simon and others.