‘Fiercely dedicated’: Prominent Winnipeg labour advocate Gord Delbridge dies

Gord Delbridge, a prominent Winnipeg advocate for public services and the labour movement, has died. (/CUPE Local 500/Facebook.)

Gord Delbridge, a long-serving labour leader and prominent advocate for public services in Winnipeg, has died.

CUPE Local 500 where Delbridge served as president prior to serving as Local Vice-President, sent out a statement to media late Tuesday morning. Cupe Local 500 is the city’s largest union, representing about 5,000 city employees. 

Union representatives said he died Monday night surrounded by loved ones.

During his career, Delbridge also served on CUPE’s National Executive Board as Regional Vice-President, as well as with CUPE Manitoba as Vice-President and Acting President.

During that time, he negotiated multiple collective agreements, advocated for safe workplaces, and fought back against threats of privatization and contracting out, the CUPE press release said.

Delbridge started his career with the city of Winnipeg in skating arena operations, where he proudly shared that public workers “make the best ice.”

When he became union president in 2015, he often attended council and committee meetings to advocate for the city to rely on its own employees to deliver services instead of outsourcing the work to external contractors.

Winnipeg mayor Scott Gillingham said he was “deeply saddened” to learn of his passing.

“Gord was a tireless advocate for working people and a cornerstone of Manitoba’s labour movement. Throughout his years leading CUPE Local 500, he fought hard for his members, and I greatly admired the passion and dedication he brought to that work,” Gillingham wrote in a press release.

“Gord was someone I genuinely liked and deeply respected. His passing is a tremendous loss for CUPE, Manitoba’s labour movement and our entire city. I will miss him.”

In 2020, the City of Winnipeg’s then mayor, Brian Bowman, proposed selling the John Blumberg Golf Course, an idea that drew strong opposition from Delbridge. 

As a vocal critic of the plan, he advocated for keeping the course in public hands, and the proposed sale ultimately did not move forward.

“Gord was unafraid to stand up to big developers and private corporations, famously pushing back against privatization, the attempted sale of public golf courses, and the ongoing fight to protect public snow clearing and garbage collection, among many other public services,” CUPE 500 said in its release.

“Winnipeg meant everything to Gord, and I think Gord should mean everything to Winnipeg,” said Gina McKay, President of CUPE Manitoba.