Cadet leader assaulted during poppy campaign faces ‘long recovery’: Hamilton mayor

HAMILTON — The mayor of Hamilton says a cadet leader faces a “long recovery” after a violent attack that police say stemmed from a confrontation over the harassment of young Remembrance Day poppy sellers.

Outgoing mayor Andrea Horwath says Capt. Kenneth Kunkel was helping young air cadets on Sunday and the community is struggling with the “shocking and violent” attack that left him hospitalized.

Hamilton police have said that a 12-year-old boy and a 48-year-old woman were charged with aggravated assault in the incident that occurred inside a restaurant on Barton Street East.

Police said it all started when two youths approached young air cadets who were selling poppies in front of the restaurant and blew an air horn “directly into their ears.”

They said a 59-year-old man who was supervising the cadets followed the youths into the restaurant to confront them and a struggle ensued.

Police allege a woman who jumped in to assist the youths assaulted the air cadet leader, causing him to fall to the ground, and that one of the boys hit the victim several times.

Police have described the victim’s injuries as “life-altering.” A GoFundMe page set up on behalf of Kunkel and his family says he has “a long and uncertain road ahead, including spinal surgery, an extended hospital stay and what will undoubtedly be an incredibly challenging recovery.”

The fundraising page says Kunkel is the commanding officer of 826 Gryphon Squadron Royal Canadian Air Cadets, and has been with the cadets for 20 years.

“Capt. Kunkel has given so much of his time to helping young people find their footing and grow into leaders,” Hamilton’s mayor wrote in a social media post.

“I hope he and his family feel some of that same care from Hamiltonians in the weeks and months ahead,” Horwath wrote.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2026.

The Canadian Press