Judy Darcy

Judy Darcy (born 1950) is a Canadian health care advocate, trade unionist, and former politician. Darcy was the first Minister of Mental Health and Addictions of British Columbia. She was the fourth National President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees from 1991 until 2003, making her the second woman and second Jewish-Canadian to hold the post, and business manager of the Hospital Employees' Union from 2005 to 2011.

Darcy was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 election, as a BC NDP candidate for the provincial constituency of New Westminster. She held this position until September 2020, and did not seek a third term in the 2020 provincial election.

Early life Darcy was born Ida Maria Judith Borunsky in Denmark, and came to Canada with her parents when she was 18 months old. Her father was a research chemist who worked as a shipping clerk for years until he could re-establish his credentials in Canada and resume work in his profession.

Borunsky and Rich married and moved to Denmark where Darcy was born in 1950. Darcy and her sister and brother were all baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church but were not raised in any faith. The family emigrated to Canada in 1951, and settled in Sarnia where Borunsky found work in the petrochemical industry. When she was 8, her parents changed the family's name to Darcy as her father wanted a French sounding name. After his retirement, her father started attending Holy Blossom synagogue and the Bernard Betel Centre for Creative Living in order to rekindle his Jewish roots and gradually revealed his story to his children.

Darcy was raised in Sarnia, and moved to Toronto to study political science at York University, but quit after 1½ years. After traveling and doing odd jobs, she became a University of Toronto library clerk in 1972 and became active in CUPE. a Maoist group, and was a candidate for the party in the 1981 Ontario provincial election in the Toronto riding of St. Andrew—St. Patrick. By 1985, she had left the party and joined the New Democratic Party, saying of her earlier radicalism "I'm older, I don't think we're going to remake the world, but we've got to change what we can."

In 1983, she became a regional vice-president of the union's Ontario division and was also working at the Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library.

In 1986, she ran for the position of Ontario president of CUPE, challenging 10-year incumbent Lucie Nicholson. She was unsuccessful, losing by a margin of 318–240, her defeat blamed on a red-baiting campaign by the union's leadership. Darcy, however, did manage to retain a spot on the union's executive board topping the slate of "member at large" positions.

By 1988, she was first vice-president of CUPE's Ontario division, as well as a vice-president of the Ontario Federation of Labour. In 1989, she successfully ran for the position of national secretary-treasurer of CUPE, the union's number two position, saying that said she stands for strong leadership to help CUPE cope with "some of the incredibly difficult challenges we'll see in the next few years, especially in light of free trade." in the suburban Toronto riding.

In 1991, she was elected CUPE national president taking over the 406,000 member trade union. By the time she retired 13 years later the union had grown to 525,000 members. Vote % | Progressive Conservative Larry Grossman

-| | Liberal Anne Johnston

-| | New Democrat Stan Kutz

-| | Independent Judy Darcy

-| | Independent Sophia Firth

-| Total

After CUPE Darcy subsequently moved to British Columbia and ran for the provincial British Columbia New Democratic Party nomination in Vancouver-Fairview, but was upset by businessman Gregor Robertson by a margin of 76 votes on the second ballot.

In February 2005, Darcy returned to work in the trade union movement, acquiring a position as secretary-business manager and chief negotiator with British Columbia's Hospital Employees' Union. She was known as being on the left of the union and an advocate of issues such as employment equity and childcare. She celebrated her election as New Westminster's Member of the Legislative Assembly at the Heritage Grill. At this party, Darcy led attendees in chanting "NDP".

In 2025, Darcy published her memoir Leading from the Heart: The Battles of a Feminist, Union Leader and Politician with Douglas & McIntyre.