She represented the riding of Halifax Needham in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1998 to 2016.
She served as the interim leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party from November 23, 2013 to February 27, 2016.
[3] A native of Antigonish, MacDonald graduated in 1979 with a MSW from the Maritime School of Social Work at Dalhousie University.
[4] On May 30, 2012, Premier Darrell Dexter shuffled his cabinet, appointing MacDonald as Minister of Finance.
[6] MacDonald was one of only seven NDP MLAs returned in the 2013 provincial election in which the Dexter government was defeated.