In the
1987 provincial election, she ran as the NDP candidate in the riding of
Markham, finishing third against
Progressive Conservative Don Cousens and
Liberal Gail Newall. In the
1990 provincial election, she ran to succeed veteran NDP member
Richard Johnston in the riding of
Scarborough West. The NDP won a majority government and Swarbrick won over half the votes by a margin of 7,819 over her closest opponent. On 1 October 1990, she was named a
minister without portfolio responsible for Women's Issues. In 1991, Swarbrick, who was a pro-choice abortion advocate, spoke out against a new federal law that would have criminalized abortion. In January she helped lead a delegation to the Canadian Senate where the bill was being debated. Eventually the bill failed in the Senate on a tie vote. Swarbrick underwent surgery for breast cancer in March 1991. She returned to the legislature in June but became involved in a controversy when she and fellow cabinet minister
Shelley Martel wrote letters to the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons asking for suspension of the license of a physician who had been convicted on sexually assaulting four teenage female patients. Since the letters violated conflict of interest guidelines she and Martel offered their resignations from cabinet. In a response in the Ontario Legislature, Liberal leader Robert Nixon indicated that while there was no political joy in the statements by Swarbrick and Martel, he felt they were right to offer their resignations, assuring them that their reputation and integrity had in no way suffered. Nixon then asked Premier Rae to comment on these statements. Premier Rae indicated that because she was minister responsible for women’s issues, Swarbrick’s letter could be seen as a case of a minister trying to influence the decision of a tribunal, and for that reason he said he had accepted her resignation. In the case of Martel’s letter, written on constituency office stationary in support of a constituent who had complained about the case, the Premier said he wanted to consider the matter further before making a decision. In a further question, Nixon asked whether the Premier would reconsider his acceptance of Swarbrick’s resignation, and on that basis the Premier did not accept the resignation of either Swarbrick or Martel. As Swarbrick's treatments of chemotherapy and radiation continued to take their toll, she eventually resigned her position on 11 September 1991 in order to focus on her recovery. Regaining her health, Swarbrick was again appointed to cabinet as
Minister of Culture, Tourism and Recreation on 3 February 1993. During her time as minister she undertook a wide range of belt-tightening measures. However she did increase grants to the movie industry and supported the
Art Gallery of Ontario in bringing the
Barnes art collection to Toronto. She also assisted in gaining provincial funding for Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada. In one of her last acts as minister she granted a licence to allow the bell of the sunken freighter the
SS Edmund Fitzgerald to be retrieved to be used for a memorial for the families of the lost sailors. The NDP was defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Swarbrick lost her seat to Progressive Conservative
Jim Brown by 2,557 votes.
Cabinet positions {{ministry box sub-cabinet posts ==After politics==