Bruce Woodsworth was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on November 24, 1914 to Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) pioneer J.S. Woodsworth and Lucy L. (Lillian) Staples Woodsworth. In 1936, Mr. Woodsworth graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Arts (Hon.) in Geology. From 1936 to 1939, the Anglo-American Exploration Company employed Mr. Woodsworth to work in Northern Rhodesia for the purpose of prospecting, surveying and mapping the area. While in Northern Rhodesia, Mr. Woodsworth engaged in big game shooting which he later wrote of in several articles. In 1939, Mr. Woodsworth began graduate work in both economic and political science at McGill University, and returned to British Columbia in 1940 to take a teachers' training course at UBC, from which he earned an academic certificate. Mr. Woodsworth married Fannie E. J. Williams in Toronto in 1944.
An ardent CCF supporter, Bruce Woodsworth first became involved with the party through his father. At the age of 16, before the CCF was even formally founded, Mr. Woodsworth delivered campaign literature for J.S. Woodsworth in Winnipeg North Centre. In 1939, he became a member of the CCF and canvassed for many candidates, took part in CCF clubs, and attended various speeches and conferences that the party promoted.