[4] MacCharles ran in the 2011 provincial election as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Pickering—Scarborough East.
[7] On November 10, 2011, MacCharles was appointed as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Children and Youth Services.
[11][12][13] The government revised the changes two months later and MacCharles was demoted to the role of Minister without portfolio, responsible for accessibility and women's issues in Ontario.
[14][15] On January 12, 2017, she was promoted to the position of Minister of Government and Consumer Services, a move precipitated by the resignation of David Orazietti in December 2016.
[16] MacCharles announced her retirement from provincial politics in April 2018, a few months before the next Ontario election.