Conservative Party of BC candidate for MLA in Nanaimo-Gabriola Island, a publisher and the president of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League.
Mark MacDonald is the Conservative Party of BC candidate in Nanaimo-Gabriola Island. The party says he has run his own publishing and communications companies for more than 20 years. The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League named him its president in June 2024. He ran for the federal Conservatives in Nanaimo-Ladysmith in 2015 and finished third with 16,637 votes (23.4 percent). The winner of that race, Sheila Malcolmson, is now the BC NDP member for this district and is running again. voche.me found no 2026 policy statement in his own words on 2026-09-30.
Researched by voche.me · Not a campaign-authored page
A researched record of Mark MacDonald's candidacy in Nanaimo-Gabriola Island, with his past candidacies and roles as official records and news reports show them. voche.me found no 2026 policy statement in his own words on 2026-09-30. Four of the five commitments here are earlier statements and earn no score for 2026.
No public appearance by the candidate was confirmed on 2026-09-30. The two voting dates come from Elections BC.
Checked September 30, 2026 · All event times are Pacific time. Recheck the organizer before travelling.
At official British Columbia voting places. These dates apply to every voter and are not candidate appearances. Find your voting place
On dates without a confirmed appearance the public schedule is unknown; the candidate may still have activities that day. This static page changes only when its research is updated.
Elections BC lists Mark MacDonald as the Conservative Party candidate in Nanaimo-Gabriola Island. The list, read on 2026-09-30, shows two accepted nominations in the district: Mark MacDonald and Sheila Malcolmson of the BC NDP. Nominations can be submitted until 1 p.m. on October 3, 2026, so more candidates may be added.
Sheila Malcolmson won the district in 2024 with 14,663 votes (52.75 percent), according to Elections BC's statement of votes. The Conservative candidate in 2024 was Dale Parker, with 9,633 votes (34.65 percent). voche.me searched the full statement of votes for the surname MacDonald and found no candidate with that name in any district.
The party says he has run his own publishing and communications companies for more than 20 years, that he published five editions of the Business Examiner, that he is an owner of Communication Ink Media & Public Relations Ltd., and that he was Managing Editor of the Nanaimo Daily News. Independent reports support two of these. The Nanaimo News Bulletin named him as managing editor of the Nanaimo Daily News in March 2013, and in October 2018 it called him publisher of the Business Examiner when it reported on his business book.
He has run for office twice before, according to the records voche.me read. Elections Canada's official results for 2015 list Mark Allen MacDonald as the Conservative candidate in the federal district of Nanaimo-Ladysmith, in third place with 16,637 votes (23.4 percent). Sheila Malcolmson won that race for the NDP with 23,651 votes (33.2 percent). In 2022 he ran for director of Electoral Area C of the Regional District of Nanaimo. NanaimoNewsNOW reported that Lauren Melanson received the most votes for that seat. voche.me did not open the regional district's official count.
The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League announced on June 16, 2024 that he was its new president, and the league's contact page listed him as League President on 2026-09-30. The party also says that as President of the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce he led it to be named BC Chamber of the Year in 2003. voche.me has not checked that role or that award with the chamber or with the body that gave the award.
voche.me connects these records to this candidate through details that repeat in each of them. The party's 2026 page, his own 2022 candidate questionnaire in the Times Colonist and the league's 2024 announcement name the same publication, the same communications company and the same Chamber of Commerce role. In the 2022 questionnaire he wrote that he ran as a Conservative in Nanaimo-Ladysmith in 2015.
voche.me has not contacted the campaign. The party page says he will work to grow the local economy and support small business, and gives no measure. The other commitments on this page are from his 2025 newspaper columns and his 2022 regional district campaign. voche.me found no 2026 statement from him that repeats them.
Published positions and selected commitments, separated by election cycle. Status labels describe the evidence reviewed, not a numerical score or a complete audit of the platform. Council approval is different from delivery.
5 commitments shown · Checked Sep 30
The party's candidate page says MacDonald will work to grow the local economy and support small business in Nanaimo-Gabriola Island. This is the party's description of what he will do.
In a column published by Troy Media on October 24, 2025, MacDonald wrote in favour of the Professional Reliance Act, a bill introduced by Nanaimo-Lantzville MLA George Anderson of the NDP. He wrote that the bill would require municipalities to accept certified work from licensed professionals without repeating those reviews at city hall.
In an opinion column in the Nanaimo News Bulletin on December 7, 2025, MacDonald opposed a City of Nanaimo zoning amendment to Bylaw 4500. He wrote that it targets Nanaimo Forest Products, the owner of the Harmac Pacific pulp mill, and that industrial land should hold well-paying jobs.
In the Times Colonist candidate questionnaire of October 2022, MacDonald wrote that he had opposed tax increases in the Nanaimo area for decades, and that spending paid by taxpayers should be reviewed and reduced where possible.
In the same 2022 questionnaire, MacDonald wrote that building permits in the regional district take too long and that the process must be streamlined.
voche.me found no elected office held by him in the sources read on 2026-09-30, so no voting record is listed. His two past candidacies come from Elections Canada, the Times Colonist and NanaimoNewsNOW. His role with the hockey league comes from the league.
The league announced on June 16, 2024 that MacDonald was its new president. Its contact page listed him as League President on 2026-09-30.
The league wrote in the announcement that it has 11 teams. The role is with a sports league, which falls outside the eleven scored issues, so it earns no score.
Read original statements and reporting, or open the publisher’s video. A summary of a speech is labelled separately from a full recording.
A signed column in the Nanaimo News Bulletin against a City of Nanaimo zoning amendment for heavy industry land. The paper notes that he writes for the Business Examiner News Group.
A signed column published by Troy Media in favour of a bill on housing approvals introduced by Nanaimo-Lantzville MLA George Anderson.
Written 2022 answers as a candidate for director in Electoral Area C. He named road repair, fire protection and building permits as his three issues and wrote that he opposes tax increases.
Records are labelled by type, including official findings, civil proceedings and political disputes where applicable. Each entry identifies the response found in the sources and the latest status verified for this page.
On March 28, 2013, the Nanaimo News Bulletin reported that a crowd protested at the offices of the Nanaimo Daily News over a letter to the editor that the paper had published the day before. The report says protesters entered the offices and demanded that the publisher, Hugh Nicholson, and the managing editor, Mark MacDonald, apologize to First Nations people. In October 2015 the Times Colonist reported that his selection as a federal Conservative candidate surprised some people for this reason. It quoted Nanaimo city councillor Diane Brennan, who said people were upset by the letters and by statements MacDonald made afterward. The report does not say what those statements were.
Both reports were read, and voche.me found no reply from MacDonald in them. The publisher, Hugh Nicholson, told the Nanaimo News Bulletin that the letter was the opinion of its writer, that it should not have run, and that the paper would print an apology the next day.
A public protest and an apology by the newspaper's publisher, as reported in 2013. voche.me found no ruling or official finding on this matter on 2026-09-30.
A dated reading list from independent publishers. The headings below are voche.me summaries; follow each link for the original article, context and any corrections.
Quotes MacDonald as league president on the sale of the Victoria Cougars hockey team to private owners.
Quotes MacDonald as league president saying the league has 11 teams and is considering more.
Reports the launch of his book for small business owners and calls him publisher of the Business Examiner.
Reports that on election night in 2015 he was in third place and said he would not run again at any level of government.
Describes the federal race and reports that his selection as the Conservative candidate surprised some people because of the 2013 letter at the Nanaimo Daily News.
Lists him as the Conservative candidate and as a former managing editor of the Nanaimo Daily News.
Sources checked September 30, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
Elections BC
Elections BC
Elections BC
Elections Canada
Conservative Party of BC
Conservative Party of BC
Conservative Party of BC
Communication Ink Media & Public Relations Ltd.
Troy Media · Mark MacDonald · October 24, 2025
Nanaimo News Bulletin · Mark MacDonald · December 7, 2025
Times Colonist
NanaimoNewsNOW · October 19, 2022
Nanaimo News Bulletin · Tony Trozzo · March 20, 2025
Nanaimo News Bulletin · Tony Trozzo · September 17, 2025
Nanaimo News Bulletin · October 19, 2018
Nanaimo News Bulletin · Karl Yu · October 20, 2015
Times Colonist · Jack Knox · October 10, 2015
Global News · September 7, 2015
Nanaimo News Bulletin · August 6, 2015
Nanaimo News Bulletin · Chris Bush · March 28, 2013
Times Colonist · October 1, 2022
Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League · June 16, 2024
Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League
No campaign website was found on 2026-09-30. The address markmacdonald.ca, named on his X profile, did not answer, and markmacdonaldareac.ca, his 2022 campaign address, did not answer. His X account (@MarkMacDonald30) showed only its profile line to a direct read and his LinkedIn page returned HTTP 999, so no post is used. The Business Examiner website returned HTTP 403 to direct reads and to the WebFetch tool, so his columns there were not read. Troy Media returned HTTP 403, so his October 2025 column was read in an Internet Archive copy of March 14, 2026; an archived author page of October 27, 2025 lists two more of his columns, on Alberta and on Donald Trump, which were not read. The party's candidate page labels him "Interim Conservative Party Leader". The party's own team page lists him only as the candidate for Nanaimo-Gabriola Island, so voche.me does not repeat that label. His years in publishing, his ownership of Communication Ink Media & Public Relations Ltd., his five editions of the Business Examiner, his writing awards, and his role as President of the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce with the 2003 BC Chamber of the Year award are stated by the party, by him and by the hockey league's announcement; voche.me has not checked them with the chamber, the awarding bodies or a company registry. The years he was managing editor of the Nanaimo Daily News were not found. The official count for the 2022 Regional District of Nanaimo election was not opened: the CivicInfo BC results page and a Municipal World release returned HTTP 403, so his number of votes in 2022 is not given. The Times Colonist reported in 2015 that people were upset by statements he made after the 2013 letter; voche.me did not find those statements. No 2026 news report that quotes him as a candidate was found; the Times Colonist list of Vancouver Island candidates and BC Ballot only name him. No party release naming him was found. No all-candidates meeting in the district for 2026 was found. Campaign finances and endorsements were not reviewed. Nominations close on October 3, 2026, so other candidates may still be added. The questionnaire has not been sent.
Evidence reviewed on 2026-09-30: the Elections BC candidate list and key dates page, the 2024 statement of votes, the party's candidate, team and platform pages, Elections Canada's 2015 official results, the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League's 2024 announcement and contact page, his company's website, his 2022 candidate questionnaire in the Times Colonist, two columns he wrote in 2025, and news reports from 2013 to 2025 in the Nanaimo News Bulletin, the Times Colonist, Global News and NanaimoNewsNOW.
No campaign website and no 2026 policy statement in his own words were found. His posts on X and his LinkedIn page could not be read without signing in. The Business Examiner website returned HTTP 403, so his columns there were not read. A section with no entry records what voche.me did not find on this date.
The league announced his appointment on June 16, 2024. Its contact page listed him as League President on 2026-09-30.
Vancouver Island Junior Hockey LeagueHe answered the Times Colonist candidate questionnaire for this seat. NanaimoNewsNOW reported that Lauren Melanson received the most votes. voche.me did not open the official count.
NanaimoNewsNOW, October 19, 2022Finished third with 16,637 votes (23.4 percent). The official results list him as Mark Allen MacDonald.
Elections Canada official voting results, 2015The Nanaimo News Bulletin named him in this role in a report of March 28, 2013. The party page also lists the role. voche.me did not find the years he held it.
Nanaimo News Bulletin, March 28, 2013In 2022 he wrote that he had been a publisher since 1990 and was a former owner of the Business Examiner. The Nanaimo News Bulletin called him publisher of the Business Examiner in 2018. The start year is his own account.
Times Colonist 2022 questionnaireStated by the party, which says the chamber was named BC Chamber of the Year in 2003. voche.me has not checked the role or the award with the chamber.
Party candidate pageProposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
No response has been submitted.
No response has been submitted.
No response has been submitted.
Ask Mark MacDonald directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one.
Facts voche.me can state about Mark MacDonald's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Mark MacDonald's own campaign.
Mark MacDonald is running for MLA with Conservative Party of BC.
Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Mark MacDonald.
This profile lists 6 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Mark MacDonald in a future interview. They have not been sent yet, so the page says plainly that no answer has been supplied instead of leaving the section blank.
The 2026 British Columbia election, including the MLA race, is decided on October 24, 2026.
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