He twice ran for leader of the New Brunswick Liberals. He lost in 1982 to Doug Young and in 1985 to Frank McKenna. He served as interim Liberal leader from 1982-1985 and again from October, 1997 to May, 1998 also serving as Premier.
He was Frank McKenna's right hand man in the legislature, serving as his House Leader throughout his tenure as leader from 1985 to 1997.
He resigned from the New Brunswick legislature in July of 1998.
He was appointed by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to be the chairman of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and continues to serve in that position today (January 2004).