[2] He later moved to Manitoba, and worked as an agricultural implement dealer and insurance agent in Boissevain.
[2] He first sought election to the Manitoba legislature in the 1914 campaign, but lost to Conservative incumbent James Johnson by 62 votes.
McDonald faced a serious challenge in Turtle Mountain from new Conservative leader Richard G. Willis, but retained his seat by sixteen votes (1,022 to 1,006).
[1] McDonald returned to political life in the 1935 federal election, winning the rural Manitoba riding of Souris as a Liberal-Progressive by only three votes (3,504 to 3,501).
[6] He was defeated in the 1940 campaign in which he ran as a straight Liberal, losing to "National Government" candidate J. Arthur Ross by 130 votes.