Gary Coons

Gary Earl Coons (born August 13, 1951) was the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the North Coast riding of British Columbia, Canada from 2005 to 2013. Coons is a former math teacher, having worked in the Prince Rupert area for 25 years. He was a teacher at Charles Hays Secondary School. He was also more recently the president of the Prince Rupert District Teachers Union, a local of the British Columbia Teachers' Federation.

Coons was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Soon after he was born his family moved to Lachine, Quebec, which was, at that time, a city outside of Montreal. In 1967, he moved to Burlington, Ontario where he began his lifelong love affair with hockey, playing junior "B" with the Burlington Mohawks. He graduated from Nelson High School which he attended from grades 11 to 13. After graduating, Coons attended the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario where he received his BA in Mathematics and his Bachelor of Education, with specializations in Math and Physical Education. Throughout his school years, Coons continued playing hockey, playing junior "A" hockey with the St.Thomas Elgins from 1970-71 before moving up to the Mustangs university team. While playing on University of Western Ontario hockey team, Coons claimed a university league record for penalty minutes.

In 1976, after completing his education, Coons moved to Prince George where he worked for a juvenile detention center with kids in need. Coons left Prince George when he was hired as a special education teacher at Prince Rupert's Booth Memorial Junior Secondary school in 1977. He worked as a teacher for three years before he resigned, in 1980, to co-ordinate the 1981 Northern BC Winter Games, which were held in Prince Rupert. Once the games were completed, Coons tried his hand in the commercial fishing industry, working on a gill-netter for a short time.

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