Darcy was born in Denmark and came to Canada with her parents when she was 18 months old. Her father was a research chemist who was a shipping clerk for years until he could re-establish his credentials in Canada and resume work in his profession.
York University.
She was president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees from 1991 until 2003 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 British Columbia NDP candidate for the provincial constituency of New Westminster. After travelling and doing odd jobs, she became a University of Toronto library clerk in 1972 and became active in CUPE.
In her youth, Darcy was active with the Workers" Communist Party of Canada, a Maoist group, and was a candidate for the party in the 1981 Ontario provincial election in the Toronto riding of Saint Andrew—Saint Patrick.
In 1983, she became a regional vice-president of the union"s Ontario division and was also working at the Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library.
By the mid-1980s, she was president of the Metro Toronto Council of CUPE. 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 1988 federal election, Darcy was the NDP"s candidate against Liberal Frank Stronach and Progressive Conservative John East. Cole in York—Simcoe placing a "distant third" 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. She moved to British Columbia subsequently and ran for the provincial British Columbia New Democratic Party nomination in Vancouver-Fairview but was upset by a 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 resigned from this position in September 2011 in preparation for her candidacy in the 2013 British Columbia provincial election in New Westminster.
At this party, Darcy led attendees in chanting "NDP".
She was raised in Sarnia, and moved to Toronto to study political science at York University but quit after 1½ years, but not before infiltrating and disrupting the Mission Canadian University Pageant yelling "lieutenant"s true it"s a meat market and they do exploit women!" as the winner was announced.
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.".
She celebrated her election as New Westminster"s Member of the Legislative Assembly at the Heritage Grill.
