Group of eleven people on a boat deck with the ocean and a distant shoreline in the background, celebrating with glasses of wine or champagne.

The McKay Family

ABOUT US:

An elderly man and woman are smiling and looking at each other in a kitchen, with the woman’s arm around the man’s shoulder. The man is wearing a red polo shirt, and the woman is wearing a sleeveless zebra print top.

Our Story

Immigration, travel and experiences in foreign places have been constants in the McKay family story. In 1878, at the age of 18, Albert McKay left Ontario with $100 in his pocket and made his way to Alberta, homesteading and raising a family on the banks of the Bow River near Calgary. The family sold the homestead during the dustbowl and Albert's son, Gordon, transitioned from rancher to stockbroker to oil and gas, rising to president of a large drilling company.

A black and white photo of a man and woman smiling outdoors, with trees in the background. The man is wearing glasses and a collared shirt under a sweater, and the woman has short hair and is also smiling.

Gordon’s son, Verne, married Patricia, the daughter of a Scottish immigrant. They moved to Ontario where Verne completed his studies. He became an international banker and she, a teacher. Over the years they, along with their three children, lived in New York, Hongkong, Tokyo, Singapore, Ottawa and Toronto. With each move came opportunities to experience different cultures, learn new languages and develop a richer understanding of people and the world.

The international adventure continued with daughter, Kathleen as a private banker in England & Switzerland, Peggy as an asset manager in Japan and the United States and Susan as a marketing specialist in Singapore, Malaysia, and the UK.

These experiences of immigration and building lives in foreign countries inspired founders, Verne and Pat, to establish the McKay Family Foundation to make grants to charities that help newcomers make successful transitions to and within Canada.