In general, Canadian prime ministers are viewed as boring politicians compared with the characters and mythology created of American Presidents. Jefferson, Franklin and Washington all hold a revered place in the heart of political philosophy and intellectual thought, but what about Canada's Fathers of Confederation?
I'm not quite sure what you're getting at OP. In Canadian circles that I know of MacDonald is considered to be on the same level as Washington and Franklin.
Just some more background information would be nice because there are some reasons that I know of, but most of them are not historical reasons per se. They involve the projection of American culture and the lack of projection in regards to Canadian culture.