Mr. MacKinnon is a frequent commentator on Canadian fiscal issues.

Mr. MacKinnon is a native of Prince Edward Island. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree (honours economics) from Dalhousie University and an MBA from York University. He was also awarded a Centennial Fellowship by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and York University to study at York, Harvard and Oxford Universities as well as the European Institute of Business Studies.

Mr. MacKinnon served in several senior capacities in the Ontario Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Montreal and as CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association from 1996 to 2003. He was CEO of the Ontario Development Corporation, Ontario's principal economic development agency, from 1986 to 1993.

He currently serves as Vice Chair of Quinte Health Care, a four-site community hospital in Eastern Ontario and is a Past Chair, West Park Healthcare Center, a Toronto rehabilitation hospital. He recently completed a 12 year term on the board of the Canadian Standards Association including several years as Chair of its Finance Committee. He is a Governor of Loyalist College in Belleville.

Mr. MacKinnon has been involved with and a student of Northern Ontario for fifty years, including responsibilities in health care and economic development that have affected every community in Northern Ontario. He currently lives in Prince Edward County.