Longtime rancher wins Wildrose nomination

A lifetime resident and member of Jumping Pound’s ranching community recently won the Wildrose nomination for Banff-Cochrane.

Tom Copithorne, 59, beat out Exshaw resident Russ Lyster, Feb. 2, to win the nomination.

“Of course I wanted to win because I wanted to do my part and I am inspired by the Wildrose message and Danielle Smith,” said Copithorne, who co-owns Copithorne and Ward, a livestock services company he and a friend started in 1986.

Copithorne was born in 1952 and is the grandson of an Irish immigrant. He graduated from Springbank High School and went on to the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary.

Copithorne was married in 1972 and raised his two now-grown children, Amanda and Steve, on the ranch.

When first married, Copithorne, who recently became a grandfather, participated in several sports including football and hockey, before turning his attention to rodeo. He rode professionally and competed across North America.

Copithorne said he became disenchanted with the PC party over the past four to five years, despite having long supported the party.

“Somebody has to step up and say ‘enough,’” he said. “Along with my friends and neighbours and community, we think the direction the PC government is going is not the best direction for the province.”

Especially concerning for Copithorne is what he calls the PC party’s “uncontrolled spending.”

“We are a province with all of these resources and there is just no need for it (a deficit),” he said. “We have got to become fiscally responsible, that is done through leadership.”

Another concern for Copithorne is the centralization of power.

“(The PCs) have this arrogant attitude that we need to govern from the top down,” he said.

Copithorne said, if elected, he would lead by example and listen to his constituents. His years of business experience and knowledge of the constituency make him a good choice for MLA, he added.

“I know the strain that is being put on our area,” he said. “We have to balance the environmental impact of all this growth to protect our environment and protect the people that are living there 365 days a year.”

Copithorne, who will be up against PC candidate Ron Casey, Jamie Kleinsteuber of the NDP and Liberal Peter Helfrich, is optimistic about his chances of winning election.

“So far the support I am getting has been very good,” said Copithorne.

“We have done a lot of work since (early) January when I announced my candidacy. We have a good team together and we are looking forward to the challenge. It is going to be the first interesting race since 1971.”