Norm Macdonald - Early Life

Early Life

Macdonald was born and raised in Quebec City. His father was Percy Macdonald, a Scottish-Canadian who served with the Canadian Army during World War II and helped liberate the Netherlands. His mother is Ferns Macdonald (née Mains). Macdonald has two brothers, Leslie and Neil, who are both journalists with the CBC.

In the early 1970s, Macdonald attended grade school where his parents taught at Alexander Wolff School, on Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, outside Quebec City. Macdonald has said that he was a student in his father's class, and that he had to call him "Mr. Macdonald" while in class. His father, often described as a very strict man, was his homeroom teacher for two years (grades 6 and 7). After completing 7th grade, Macdonald attended Quebec High School in Quebec City.