Former soldier embarks on walk across Ontario to help homeless vets

A former soldier has armed himself with a good pair of sneakers and a backpack as he undertakes a new task: An 800 kilometre solo trek across the province to help veterans in need. 

Ken MacKay, 65, will spend the weeks ahead walking from Windsor to Ottawa, with the goal of raising $250,000 to support homeless veterans. 

"I didn't go overseas, I didn't see anything — they did and they're homeless, and they have to fight another battle," he said. "They shouldn't have to do that." 

MacKay, who's from Port Dover, Ont., joined Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry when he was 18 and served for three years, he said. Later, he spent nine years as a reservist with the 48th Highlanders. A former CBC camera operator in Toronto, MacKay now serves as sergeant at arms at his local legion.

There are anywhere from 2,500 to 10,000 homeless veterans across Canada, according to a 2023 report from McGill University. 

"There could be more because veterans are very proud and they don't want to ask for help," MacKay said. "So a lot of them couch surf and go from place to place. It takes them a lot to ask for help."

MacKay has already raised more than $26,000 of his goal, all of which will go to Homes for Heroes, a nonprofit that builds villages with tiny homes and support services for military veterans. 

The group has villages in Calgary, Edmonton, and Kingston, Ont., as well as ones planned for Winnipeg and London, Ont. 

MacKay arrived in Windsor by train on Friday, where he was met by the first of many supporters who will put him up in the weeks ahead. His "Trek 4 Vets" to the nation's capital starts Saturday, and will see him stop at a constellation of Royal Canadian Legion branches across southern Ontario. 

MacKay is no stranger to long walks. He's done two "Caminos" – mountain pilgrimages in Spain and Portugal that are hundreds of kilometres long. 

"I was planning on doing 800 kilometres in the mountains of Spain, but I said why not do something in Ontario and raise some funds, some money for our veterans?" he said.

To train, he's been walking 13 kilometres every other day, he said. His eight kilogram (18 pound) backpack is "quite light" compared to the 18 kilogram (40 pound) one he carried as an infantryman.

"So this is nothing," he said. "It's seven pairs of socks, seven pairs of underwear, t-shirts, couple of zipper pants and toiletries and that's about it." He also has a reflective vest he'll wear for safety.

MacKay said he doesn't listen to music while walking: "I like to hear the sounds of nature," he said. "My meditation is walking."

His journey required careful route planning in addition to nightly accommodations. He said he had plenty of help from his fellow legion members.

"We started looking for legions along the route and it just happened to be [that] there's one every 25 kilometres or so. So they would phone, you know, somebody in Belle River, Tilbury, or Chatham and ask, 'Can you put Ken up?'" he said. "We got yes, all the way along."

One of those people is Claude Beaulieu, who was hosting MacKay in Windsor on Friday night. Beaulieu said he was approached by his Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 255 in Riverside, and said yes because "it's a good cause."

A former Windsor Regiment reservist, Beaulieu said he's encountered a handful of homeless veterans locally while volunteering at a soup kitchen.

"But it's not something that they bring up," he said. "Veterans are proud […] but unfortunately sometimes you do need help."

MacKay will take the first steps of his trek on Saturday morning at Branch 255, then make his way to Belle River.

"I want to get going. I've been planning this since December and I've just been waiting," he said. "I would go right now if I could."

Those who want to keep track of his progress can follow the Port Dover Legion Facebook group, which will be posting regular updates, he said.