A member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, she represents the electoral district of Pictou West.

[2] MacFarlane is a graduate of Husson University in Maine with an associate degree in Business Communications.

[3] In 2016, MacFarlane was named "Legislator of the Year" at the non-profit Springtide Collective's Better Politics Awards.

[6] The latter appointment caused backlash among some Nova Scotians as MacFarlane is white as well as the fact that the riding she represents has no First Nations communities.

[7] She resigned from cabinet on September 14, 2023,[8] and was elected Nova Scotia's first female Speaker of the House on October 12, 2023.