Regina remembers John Hopkins

John Hopkins, the longtime CEO of the Regina Chamber of Commerce, died on Feb. 2. (Source: @ReginaChamber/Twitter)

Members of the public were invited to attend the funeral service and pay their respects to John Hopkins, the well known Regina icon known for his advocacy of many issues over his long career in the Queen City.

"Today is a day that we're gonna say bye to a great Regina leader, a very courageous person," said Lori Ireland, Chair of the Board for the Regina Chamber of Commerce.

Hopkins passed away peacefully last week after a courageous battle with cancer, he was 61 years-old.

Hopkins was born in Toronto, but moved to Regina in 1981 and found his calling working for Regina Downtown, where he eventually became the executive director.

He would later on rise to the position of CEO of the Regina & District Chamber of Commerce. A position he would hold for over 20 years.

"I think John taught us the importance of caring about our community and caring about everyone in our community,” said Chief Evan Bray of the Regina Police Service. “You could, on one hand, watch John fighting for business and entrepreneurs in our city that we're working to grow and enhance our city. And on the other hand, John very much cared about social issues and helping those that maybe couldn't help themselves.”

Hopkins advocated for mental health awareness and devoted his life to helping people with addiction.

In 2018, Hopkins was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer and used it as motivation to champion the issue of men’s health and prostate cancer awareness by encouraging other men to get checked.

Hopkins was named the 2019 CTV Regina Citizen of the Year Award, 2019 Humanitarian of the Year Award, 2019 Roger Phillips Chamber Builder Award, and 2013 Executive of the Year Award.

“Whether it was the business community, whether it was the indigenous community or whether it was the recovery community where he dealt with people with, you know, mental health issues and drug addiction and he could put him in any realm," said Gillis Lavalley, a close friend of Hopkins. "He always had best friends and he was the best friend of many people.” 

The service was held at the Conexus Arts Centre Saturday afternoon. Premier Scott Moe, Regina Mayor Sandra Masters, and Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme spoke during the event.