Researching Walter Mcdonald

Born to a wealthy land-owning family, the son of John Albert McDonald and Alice Grace Carr, McDonald was educated in Roland and at Wesley College in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1925, and worked in insurance and real estate. McDonald later served on the Board of Regents for United College in Winnipeg. He was also active in freemasonry, and became Grant Master of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba in 1948-49. He became a thirty-third degree mason in 1955. In 1930, he married Jean McKay. They had five children.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1949 provincial election, defeating Independent Progressive Conservative G.R. Muir by 101 votes in the constituency of Dufferin. He served as a backbench supporter of Douglas Campbell's government, and was re-elected by an increased majority in the 1953 election.

The Liberal-Progressives lost power to the Progressive Conservatives following the 1958 election, though McDonald retained his seat over Tory candidate William Homer Hamilton by 73 votes. The following year, he lost to Hamilton by 154 votes in the 1959 provincial election.

McDonald served as Sovereign Grand Commander of Canada's Scottish Rite of Freemasonry from 1976 to 1979. He continued operating his insurance business until 1986.

He died in Roland at the age of 96.

At some point McDonald was transferred to Melbourne where he joined the Melbourne Cricket Club and began competing in district cricket, primarily as a bowler, before being transferred to Townsville in 1923 where he became prominent in cricket as a player and administrator, and he was later described as the best allrounder the city had ever had. In 1928 he was transferred to Launceston and his arrival was viewed as a positive sign for Northern Tasmanian cricket.