He graduated from Mabou Consolidated School in 1990 and from St. Francis Xavier University in 1994, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education with a minor in English and a Nova Scotia Teaching Licence.

[citation needed] He was employed as a senior high teacher with the Strait Regional School Board and was actively engaged in many community groups.

He balanced Nova Scotia's budget each year of his term, lowered the Provincial debt, reduced taxes, and invested in key areas of the province's economy.

MacDonald was also included on the 2004 Smithsonian release The Beaton Family of Mabou: Cape Breton Fiddle and Piano Music and numerous other compilations.

[6] He served in Premier John Hamm's cabinet with various ministerial portfolios including Tourism, Culture & Heritage, Health Promotion, and Immigration.

[7] Following Hamm's September 2005 announcement of his intention to retire, MacDonald committed to running for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia.

Although MacDonald kept his seat in the riding of Inverness,[13] the Progressive Conservatives lost the election to the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party, led by Darrell Dexter.

[citation needed] He most recently was in the public eye when he condemned the provincial government's proposed cutting of the Gaelic Affairs Department budget by 40%.

[19] Additionally, in 2022, MacDonald faced scrutiny when he began lobbying the current Progressive Conservative provincial government, on behalf of Cabot Group as a community liaison, to lease one-third of the 215 hectares of land belonging to West Mabou Provincial Park to develop the company's third golf course.