She did not run again in the 1993 Canadian federal election which saw the incumbent Progressive Conservative government reduced to two seats in the House of Commons.
[1] She based her opposition to Senate reform partly on the fact that this institution is responsible for the state of abortion law in Canada at present.
She was a member of the Red Tory Council and supported auto-parts magnate Belinda Stronach's campaign to become leader of the new Conservative Party of Canada in winter 2004.
On January 14, 2005, McDougall participated in the Atlantic Storm pandemic preparedness exercise at the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC, playing the fictional role of Prime Minister of Canada.
She has served as a Canadian representative to the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C., and The International Crisis Group in Brussels, Belgium.
She is a director of Unique Solutions Design Ltd. She has worked as a business reporter for the Vancouver Sun, an analyst for Odlum Brown and at brokerage firm A.E.