A long time resident of Degrassi Street in Toronto, Mackey was also friends with Degrassi creators Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. He offered his home as a set for the first episode Ida Makes a Movie (1979).
Mackey was a teacher at Earl Grey Senior Public School in Toronto for 25 years.
In 2003, a small park at the south end of Degrassi Street in Toronto was renamed "Bruce Mackey Park".