He then emigrated to Victoria, Australia in 1855 to continue his writing career during the Victorian gold rush.
In February 1861, McClure acquired a printing plant in Victoria, resigned from the council, and moved himself and his business back to Vancouver Island.
After several years of focusing on his printing career, McClure rejoined politics and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island in a 1865 by-election.
[2] However, this idea was still very unpopular, and McClure slowly started to lose the confidence of his colleagues in politics and his printing business.
In December 1866, McClure left British Columbia for San Francisco where he continued to run printing plants until his death in June 1867.