Ernest joined the military in 1954 where he served as a machine gunner as a member of the 2nd Battalion of The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada.

He was very proud of his service and seemed to have a friend from The Black Watch fighting battalion in every community in NS and NB that he was always pleased to talk about.

After his military service ended, he was employed for nineteen years as a letter carrier for Canada Post until his retirement in 1991.