Cooper was educated at vocational school and was a rubber worker at Uniroyal Goodrich for 17 years.
[1] He served as steward of United Rubber Workers Local 667. Cooper ran for the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1985, but finished third against Liberal incumbent John Sweeney in the riding of Kitchener—Wilmot.
[2] The NDP won a majority government in the provincial election of 1990 and Cooper defeated Liberal newcomer Carl Zehr by over 5,000 votes.
[7] The NDP was defeated in the 1995 provincial election and Cooper again finished third in the Kitchener—Wilmot riding, placing over 9,000 votes behind Progressive Conservative Gary Leadston.
[9] Cooper ran for the federal New Democratic Party in the Canadian general election of 1997 in Waterloo—Wellington, but finished a distant fourth against Liberal Lynn Myers.