Born in Cashion's Glen, Ontario, McDonald played for various senior teams in Fort William, Ontario, and Port Arthur, Ontario, before joining the new New Westminster Royals of the PCHA. He was named to the league's first all-star team in 1912, 1913, and 1914. McDonald played eight seasons in all in the PCHA before 1919. He played in the ill-fated 1919 Stanley Cup Finals, cancelled after five games due to the Spanish flu pandemic, and played one more season in 1920–21 with the Edmonton Dominions of the Big Four League before retiring.