J. Michael MacDonald ONS (born 1954) is a Canadian lawyer who previously served as the 22nd Chief Justice of Nova Scotia from 2004 until 2019.
Raised in the Whitney Pier neighbourhood of Sydney, Nova Scotia, MacDonald received a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Allison University in 1976 and then graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1979.
[2] MacDonald began his career working as a lawyer in the Sydney, Nova Scotia office of Boudreau, Beaton & LaFosse, which later merged with Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales.
[1] In 1995, MacDonald was appointed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, and was elevated to Associate Chief Justice in 1998.
[5] Families of the 22 victims killed during the shooting reacted to the announcement with disappointment, as they had been calling for a full public inquiry.