Victor Copps served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, and moved to Hamilton in 1945, where he was hired as a sports reporter for CHML Radio. He was elected as senior controller on the Board of Control in 1960, and became Deputy Mayor of Hamilton. He was then elected as Mayor in December 1962 - the office he held until a major heart attack in 1976 - and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Ontario Liberal Party in 1964.