William Cooper

PC MP CC OOnt OMC

The Right Honourable William Cooper PC MP CC OOnt OMC was the original founder of the Lisgar Model House of Commons club. He currently serves as the Club Leader, MP for Ottawa South, a Sergeant in the Royal Canadian Army Cadets, and the first NDP Prime Minister of Canada. As sponsor of 9 bills and 10 motions, he is the most prolific legislator in MHoC history.

## Life

### Early Life

As a young boy, William was always fascinated by the political system, often making parliaments in Minecraft and developing complex systems of administration for mundane tasks. He often remarked that when he grew up, he wanted to be Prime Minister. Little did he know that one day that dream would become a reality.

### School Years

#### **Gifted Program**

By the time William was in Grade 4, it was clear to his parents and school faculty that he was unique. He had taken the gifted test in Grade 1, but had just narrowly failed to meet the threshold for joining the gifted program in Grade 3, so he was retested and passed with flying colours. In Grade 5, he made the transfer from his home school, Alta Vista Public School, to one with a congregated gifted class, Vincent Massey Public School.

Immediately it became apparent that this had been the right choice. His mental health improved substantially, from a place where he had attempted suicide the previous year, to thoroughly enjoying his schooling experience and achieving high grades.

Grade 6 would prove a significant challenge for William. Paired with a teacher he thoroughly disliked, he failed to continue his strong streak of academic achievement from Grade 5, and his grades, although still acceptable, fell significantly. His homeroom teacher made it very clear that his distaste for her was a mutual feeling, and made no attempts to adequately accommodate his IEP needs.

Grades 7 & 8 were overall quite good years for William, he had excellent teachers and achieved high levels of academic success. It was during these years that his activism would begin to be noticed by the staff and community, actions that would take him to the House of Commons later in life.

#### **Lisgar Collegiate Institute**

At Lisgar Collegiate Institute William would first get involved in politics while still maintaining his other hobbies. He joined the Lisgar Symphony Børkëstră as a violist and would receive high marks. He also founded the Lisgar Model House of Commons Club which would prove a great success.

## Prime Minister

### Political Career

Following a vote of no-confidence in Justin Trudeau's Liberal minority government in September of 2020, William decided to run in the subsequent election in his childhood riding of Ottawa South. Initially seen as an unlikely victor against the 16-year, Liberal incumbent David McGuinty, he managed to gain 43.7% of the vote after a successful campaign.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh lost his seat in the election, leading to a leadership review, in which he only managed to retain the support of 64.9% of party delegates. This led to a leadership election within the NDP in which William won NDP Leadership. His first act as leader was to seek a coalition government with the Liberals, and their new leader, Rania Robertson.

## Political Beliefs

A self-described state socialist, William has always believed in doing what is right for Canadians. William believes in substantially expanding universal healthcare to include coverage for prescription drugs, dental care, eye care, and mental health care. He believes in policies for universal childcare, a universal basic income, better addiction support networks, free school meals, and more affordable housing as well as the nationalization of telecom, oil, and mining, and a Green New Deal that would swiftly transition Canada from a resource-based economy, to a green, renewable one.

## Hobbies

William has been described as an adept musician, playing viola and bagpipes. He also is a baritone singer and enjoys both listening to and performing Gilbert & Sullivan. William has, in the past, played with Canada's oldest civilian pipe band, the Sons of Scotland, and received four and a half years of private instruction from its Pipe Major. William also is a member of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets, as part of the 2784 Governor General's Foot Guards Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps in which he is a Master Warrant Officer and Company Sergeant Major.