The United Church of Canada grieves The Very Rev. Dr. Norman Bruce McLeod, the denomination's 25th (1972-74) Moderator.
ORANGEVILLE, ON, Jan. 14, 2026 /CNW/ - The Very Rev. Dr. Norman Bruce McLeod, The United Church of Canada's 25th and longest-living Moderator, has died at age 96. He died in Orangeville, ON, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. He was married to Rev. Joyce Kelly, and was the father of three daughters: Jeannie, Laura and Margaret, and three step-children: Garry, Denise and Darlene.
Rev. Dr. McLeod served as Moderator of the United Church from 1972-1974. During his term as Moderator, he travelled extensively throughout Canada. In 1973, he was the subject of an episode of Man Alive, with host Roy Bonisteel, who spent a day with the then-new 44-year-old moderator of the United Church of Canada, seen by some as the church's voice for a new generation.
"The world is not empty and purposeless. There's something going on here," he told Broadview in an interview published in April last year. "And it is not a neutral presence! It's a presence that got the whole thing rolling, out of love, and delighted in what was made. That presence is still here, and it knows our names, and sometimes wakes us in the night and says, 'Why aren't you up and doing?'"
Born in Toronto in 1929, he earned his B.D. from Emmanuel College in 1953, an M.A. from Columbia University and a Th.D. from Union Theological Seminary in 1960.
In 1975, he became Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) and was responsible for drafting a report on human rights in the province. As a Commissioner of the OHRC, he strongly supported a sexual orientation amendment. He is a former director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
In 1981, he won the Liberal nomination for the St. George riding in Toronto, but lost the election to Conservative candidate, Susan Fish. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Rev. Dr. McLeod visited Africa, Latin America, and Asia as an international observer. Inter-faith conversations were a hallmark of his service. He frequently contributed to Broadview Magazine (formerly the United Church Observer) and was a columnist for the Toronto Star. In 1987, McLeod stayed anonymously at the Seaton House men's shelter in Toronto, and wrote several op-eds for the Star about the conditions in the shelter.
Rev. Dr. McLeod served in many United churches in Ontario, including in Port Credit, Hamilton, Toronto, Richmond Hill, Stratford, Scarborough and Rosedale. The church across the country offers our deepest condolences to his wife, Joyce, his family, his friends, and the community of Westminster United Church in Orangeville, ON, where he was a member.
Details about funeral arrangements are not yet available.
SOURCE United Church of Canada
MEDIA CONTACTS: Lori-Ann Livingston (she/her), Press and public relations lead, Responsable, relations publiques et avec les médias, Office of the Moderator and General Secretary, The United Church of Canada | L'Église Unie du Canada, +1.437.703.2736, [email protected], [email protected], Based in Kitchener, Ont.
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