He was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, the son of Russell Ethelbert Coupland and Mary Boyes,[2] and was educated there and in Prelate.
He returned to the Dunfield district and then moved to Meadow Lake, where he worked for the Pioneer Grain Company.
Coupland then operated a feed mill, then a chick hatchery and, later, a real estate and insurance company.
He also served as chairman of the Golden Ridge school board and as a member of the town council for Meadow Lake.
Coupland ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the provincial assembly in 1960 before being elected in 1964.