MacDonald first ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in a by-election held on October 26, 1992, in the electoral district of Three Hills as a candidate of the Liberal Party.
[1] A few months later, in the 1993 Alberta general election, MacDonald ran in the new electoral district of Three Hills-Airdrie as his old riding was abolished during redistribution.
He was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate Carol Haley by a wide margin.
[2] In the 1997 Alberta general election, he ran under the Social Credit banner in the district of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.
[3] MacDonald holds the record for the shortest time served in the Alberta legislature between election and defeat, at seven months and 20 days.