At the 2005 Ford World Men's Curling Championship, MacDonald was an alternate for David Murdoch's silver medal winning team. Later that year, MacDonald moved up to play second and the team won a bronze at the European Championships. By 2006, MacDonald was playing third and the new team finished in fourth place at the 2006 Winter Olympics. They would also go to the 2006 World Men's Curling Championship where they won a gold medal.