Liberal

Lapierre was elected to the House of Commons in 1978, serving from 1979 to 1993, representing the riding of Shefford, Quebec. He sat as a Liberal from 1979 to 1990. Lapierre was a Quebec federalist; together with Pierre Trudeau, he opposed the 1980 Quebec referendum alternative to establish sovereignty for the province. In the first referendum on the place of Quebec in Canada, continued federal status won with nearly 60 per cent of the vote.

After Trudeau retired from politics in 1984, he was succeeded as Prime Minister and party leader by John Turner. Turner appointed Lapierre at age 28 to cabinet (at the time, the youngest minister to serve in a federal cabinet) as minister of state for youth and amateur sport. Lapierre's tenure was brief as Turner called an election nine days after being sworn in, and the Liberals lost.

Lapierre was a strong proponent of the Meech Lake Accord, and Turner and Martin also expressed support for it. Trudeau publicly campaigned against it, and Jean Chrétien opposed it as well.

Bloc Québécois

Upon leaving the Liberals, Lapierre sat as an independent, helping to found the Bloc Québécois and serving in their first caucus. In 1992, he retired from politics for a time and abandoned his affiliation with the Bloc. Lapierre has said that he never fully identified as a separatist and was the "red of the rainbow" in a temporary ad hoc rainbow coalition. He wanted to gain a level playing field for Quebec.^[4]

2004 federal election

In the 2004 federal election, Lapierre was expected to deliver the vote in Quebec, but this was difficult following the sponsorship scandal of the Liberal Party. The scandal severely hurt the party's support, especially in that province, while the rival Bloc Québécois gained support. Lapierre said that it would help the Liberals if the Royal Canadian Mounted Police could "lay some charges already" in the sponsorship probe.^[7]

Years later, Lapierre said the sponsorship scandal had damaged the party like getting hit by a Mack truck.^[8] When Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe tried to link Liza Frulla to the Sponsorship Scandal, saying that her 2002 by-election campaign was funded by members implicated in the scandal, Lapierre described it as "the cheapest thing you can do—try to start gossip that has no foundation".^[9]

The Liberals were able to retain a plurality of seats to continue governing, but they were reduced to a minority. In Quebec, they lost 15 of the 36 seats won in 2000, and their popular vote fell from 44 to 34 per cent, while the Bloc Québécois captured 54 of the 75 seats.

Minister of Transport

As Minister of Transport, Lapierre initiated the Pacific Gateway Strategy, signing air transport agreements with China and India and completed a formal Canada-US Open Skies Agreement. He also spearheaded a large federal investment in the Prince Rupert container terminal, saying that it improved ties to Asian markets, while enhancing economic development in northern British Columbia and Alberta. Lapierre reduced the amount paid by airports to the federal government by some $5 billion over the remaining life of the leases. He announced the implementation of a No Fly List to increase security for airline passengers.^[10]

As Transport Minister, his predecessor Tony Valeri had dismissed VIA Rail chairman Jean Pelletier, who filed a lawsuit against the government charging it had failed to use due process. A federal court ruled in his favor in November 2005 after the change in administrations, ordering Pelletier to be reinstated. The government appealed the court ruling and kept the former chair off the payroll. Lapierre ensured that due process was followed in dismissing Pelletier a second time.^[11] But in March 2007, Justice Francois Lemieux ruled that the Martin government acted improperly in 2005 when it fired Pelletier a second time, immediately after a court had overturned his first dismissal, stating that Lapierre was biased and failed to follow proper procedures.^[12] On November 22, 2007, Judge Hélène Langlois of Quebec Superior Court ruled that government of then-Prime Minister Paul Martin had acted in a "cavalier and precipitous" fashion when it fired Pelletier. The court awarded Pelletier $235,000 in lost income, and a further $100,000 in damages.^[13]

Lapierre and his department were criticised for their handling of the collapse of the carrier Jetsgo. Critics said that he should have seen warning signs after unsuccessful attempts to lower the carrier's costs. They also said that he had failed to warn the public or intervene, making him indirectly responsible when thousands of travelers were stranded when the carrier stopped operations. Lapierre rejected calls to resign, and denied that he had any knowledge of the collapse. He pointed out that most of the passengers had booked flights with credit cards and would be eligible for refunds.^[14]

Opposition

Lapierre retained his position as Quebec lieutenant for the 2006 election. He was personally re-elected without much difficulty, though with a reduced margin.^[15] But, the Liberals lost power in the campaign, falling from 21 to 13 seats in Quebec. They were surpassed by the Conservatives in the popular vote.

Paul Martin resigned as parliamentary leader on election night, and as party leader a month later. Interim successor Bill Graham appointed Lapierre to his shadow cabinet as Industry critic.

Lapierre was neutral at the 2006 Liberal leadership election, where Stéphane Dion was elected Liberal leader. Lapierre afterwards planned to announce that he would not run for re-election in Outremont, saying that his "commitment was to Mr. Martin for one mandate." Lapierre commented that Dion was the first leader not to have to cope with a divided party, after decades of infighting between Trudeau/Turner and Chrétien/Martin.