For forty years, the Coalition of Progressive Electors – COPE – has been a democratic, community-based coalition of individuals and organizations. Members meet regularly to develop and vote on COPE’s policies and platform, to elect the Executive Board that directs COPE’s affairs and to nominate candidates for election to Vancouver City Council, School Board and Park Board. All activities are conducted according to COPE’s Constitution and By-Laws which are approved by members at annual general meetings.
COPE was formed in 1968 by numerous individuals and community organizations. Among them were Frank Kennedy, chairperson of the Metropolitan Advisory Committee of the Vancouver and District Labour Council; lawyer Harry Rankin, who had been elected to city council in 1966 on a platform of low cost housing, a ward system, tax relief for homeowners and saving Stanley Park from developers; and community organizer Ben Swankey.
Early COPE organizers and candidates wanted to bring the concerns of working people to a Vancouver City Hall dominated since the 1930s by one party – the NPA – the electoral arm of big money interests.
Since its inception, COPE has represented and advocated for ordinary working people and families; those on fixed income; renters and home-owners; small and sustainable business; and neighbourhoods and communities that make up the cultural diversity of Vancouver. COPE is committed to social justice, democracy, open and accesible government, environmental sustainability and economic security for all Vancouver residents.