He was the nephew of John Ferguson, who represented Renfrew South from 1887 to 1900, and was also related to Richard McBride, a former Premier of British Columbia.
[1] From 1904 to 1905, he worked in the composing room of the Winnipeg Free Press, and in 1908 he returned to Brantford to set up a printing company there.
MacBride, however, argued that his departure from the caucus was due to its acquiescence to the United Farmers in the selection of cabinet members.
MacBride remained a Labour MLA but sat in the Opposition benches and ran for re-election as a Conservative-Labour candidate in 1923.
After his second term in the legislature ended in 1926, he did not run for re-election and was appointed Supervisor of Highways by the Conservative provincial government of Howard Ferguson.