Heath MacDonald (born May 9, 1966)[1] is a Canadian politician who has been Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food since 2025. A member of the Liberal Party, MacDonald was elected to represent Malpeque in the House of Commons in the 2021 federal election.
Background
A resident of Cornwall, Prince Edward Island (PEI),[2] MacDonald has worked as a tourism operator and as executive director of Quality Tourism Services.[2]
Political career
He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of PEI in the 2015 provincial election,[3] representing the electoral district of Cornwall-Meadowbank as a member of the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party until he resigned on August 18, 2021 in order to run in the 2021 Canadian federal election.[3][4]
On May 20, 2015, MacDonald was appointed to the Executive Council of Prince Edward Island as Minister of Economic Development and Tourism.[5] On January 10, 2018, MacDonald was named Minister of Finance in a cabinet shuffle.[6]
On June 21, 2021, MacDonald announced he would seek the nomination to run for the federal Liberal Party in Malpeque.[7] He won the nomination later that summer and was elected in the 2021 federal election.[8]
On May 13, 2025, MacDonald was appointed as Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. MacDonald had previously served on the agriculture committee, finance committee, and chair of the public safety and national security committee prior to entering cabinet.
Electoral record
| 2025 Canadian federal election: Malpeque | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Heath MacDonald | 15,485 | 57.60 | +15.58 | ||||
| Conservative | Jamie Fox | 9,846 | 36.63 | +3.50 | ||||
| Green | Anna Keenan | 1,049 | 3.90 | −10.12 | ||||
| New Democratic | Cassie Mackay | 371 | 1.38 | −6.65 | ||||
| People’s | Hilda Baughan | 132 | 0.49 | −2.30 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 26,883 | 99.20 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 216 | 0.80 | ||||||
| Turnout | 27,099 | 82.58 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 32,815 | |||||||
| Liberal notional hold | Swing | +6.04 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[9][10] | ||||||||
| Note: number of eligible voters does not include voting day registrations. | ||||||||
| 2021 Canadian federal election: Malpeque | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Heath MacDonald | 9,912 | 41.81 | +0.43 | $84,041.53 | |||
| Conservative | Jody Sanderson | 7,836 | 33.05 | +7.41 | $84,415.05 | |||
| Green | Anna Keenan | 3,381 | 14.26 | −12.23 | $44,768.30 | |||
| New Democratic | Michelle Neill | 1,898 | 8.01 | +1.52 | $4,489.55 | |||
| People’s | Christopher Landry | 680 | 2.87 | – | $1,387.95 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 23,707 | 99.27 | $90,924.86 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 174 | 0.73 | −0.51 | |||||
| Turnout | 23,881 | 74.61 | −1.68 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 32,009 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −3.49 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[11][12] | ||||||||
| 2019 Prince Edward Island general election: Cornwall-Meadowbank | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Heath MacDonald | 1,643 | 47.90 | +1.62 | ||||
| Green | Ellen Jones | 1,137 | 33.15 | +21.07 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Elaine Barnes | 602 | 17.55 | -16.30 | ||||
| New Democratic | Craig Nash | 48 | 1.40 | -6.39 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 3,430 | 99.80 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 7 | 0.20 | -0.12 | |||||
| Turnout | 3,437 | 80.28 | -1.25 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 4,281 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -9.72 | ||||||
| [13] | ||||||||
| 2015 Prince Edward Island general election: Cornwall-Meadowbank | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Heath MacDonald | 1,444 | 46.28 | -17.17 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Michael Drake | 1,056 | 33.85 | +5.39 | ||||
| Green | Rosalyn Abbott | 377 | 12.08 | +5.61 | ||||
| New Democratic | Jennifer Coughlin | 243 | 7.79 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 3,120 | 99.68 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 10 | 0.32 | -0.46 | |||||
| Turnout | 3,130 | 81.53 | +10.50 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 3,839 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -11.28 | ||||||
| [14] | ||||||||
References
- ^ “Minding the House: a biographical guide to Prince Edward Island MLAs (Volume 2), 1993-2017 (Cassandra Bernard & Sean McQuaid, Eds.)” (PDF). Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ a b “Heath MacDonald seeks Liberal nomination in District 16”. The Guardian. February 13, 2015. Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ a b “District #16 Cornwall – Meadowbank”. Elections Prince Edward Island. May 4, 2015. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ Chang, Arturo (August 18, 2021). “Heath MacDonald officially resigns as MLA to run in federal election”. CBC News. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
- ^ “P.E.I. cabinet restructured under MacLauchlan”. CBC News. May 20, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ “Roach, McIsaac out in P.E.I. cabinet shuffle”. CBC News. January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- ^ Campbell, Kerry (June 21, 2021). “Liberal MLA announces intention to run in federal riding of Malpeque”. CBC News. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
- ^ Yarr, Kevin (August 4, 2021). “Heath MacDonald to represent Liberals in Malpeque”. CBC News. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ “Voter information service”. Elections Canada. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ “Election Night Results – Electoral Districts”. Elections Canada. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ “Official Voting Results”. Elections Canada. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ “Candidate Campaign Returns”. Elections Canada. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
- ^ Elections Prince Edward Island. “Provincial General Election 2019” (PDF).
- ^ Elections Prince Edward Island (May 4, 2015). “Provincial General Election – CEO Report” (PDF). Retrieved October 15, 2021.
External links
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