She was originally from
Saskatchewan, where her father worked as a
general practitioner in the town of
Shaunavon. She lived in
Salt Lake City,
England and
Winnipeg through her childhood and teenage years, then studied science at the
Memorial University of Newfoundland before attending medical school at
Queen's University. She worked in
Toronto before moving with her husband Robert to
Rossland, British Columbia in 1989, where she practised as a family physician. She was a member of the board of the
British Columbia Medical Association for 12 years, serving as president from 2006 to 2007. In a rematch for the Fairview seat at the
2009 provincial election, MacDiarmid defeated McGinn to become the riding's MLA, In November 2009, MacDiarmid was rushed to
Peace Arch Hospital for emergency treatment and transferred to
Royal Columbian Hospital for intensive care for
pneumococcal meningitis. She recovered and was re-assigned as Minister of Tourism, Trade and Investment and Minister Responsible for the Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat in October 2010. With
George Abbott resigning as Minister of Education in November 2010 to contest the
Liberal Party leadership, MacDiarmid additionally took on the education portfolio. After
Christy Clark took over as premier in March 2011, MacDiarmid was initially without a cabinet post, until her appointment as Minister of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government that September; she was then re-assigned as
Minister of Health in September 2012. In 2012,
Mike de Jong's Ministry of Health fired seven ministry workers without cause. MacDiarmid, as his freshly appointed replacement, claimed that the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was investigating what she referred to as their misconduct; it emerged in 2015 that the RCMP had not conducted any criminal investigation due to lack of evidence. The matter in its entirety was referred to the Ombudsperson of British Columbia, who in 2017 issued a report titled "Misfire: The 2012 Ministry Of Health Employment Terminations and Related Matters". The Ombudsperson recommended that by May 31, 2017, the government of British Columbia "make a public statement that acknowledges and apologizes for the harm caused by the Ministry of Health investigations and the decisions". Following her defeat in the
2013 provincial election by BC NDP candidate
George Heyman, she was appointed to the board of directors for
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, serving from 2013 to 2017. == Electoral results ==