[1] Born in 1944 at New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, he was the son of Edgar William MacNeil and Elizabeth Adelaide (Weir).
[2] He entered provincial politics in the 1984 election, defeating Liberal leader Sandy Cameron by 390 votes in the Guysborough riding.
[5] On December 23, 1988, MacNeil was appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia as Minister of Lands and Forests.
[6] When Donald Cameron took over as premier in February 1991, he named MacNeil Minister of Mines and Energy.
[8] In the 1993 election, MacNeil was defeated by Liberal Ray White in the new Guysborough-Port Hawkesbury riding.