unimpressed with the leadership abilities of Michael Cassidy. An opponent of the Progressive Conservative party that had governed Ontario since 1943, Scott instead chose to run for the Ontario Liberal Party under Stuart Smith, in the downtown Toronto riding of St. David. He lost to Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Margaret Scrivener by 1,022 votes. Scott was, by his own admission, disillusioned with the direction of the Liberal Party in the early 1980s. He was not initially a supporter of David Peterson, who replaced Smith as Liberal leader in 1982 and whom Scott considered too far to the right. Scott had previously promised to run in the 1985 provincial election, but planned to back out of this promise in 1984. However, while driving to Peterson's cottage in Pand, he reconsidered and remained the Liberal candidate in St. David. Attorney-General The 1985 election was a watershed moment in Ontario politics. The Progressive Conservatives were reduced to a minority government, and the Liberals made considerable electoral inroads throughout the province. Scott was elected in St. David, defeating Tory candidate and personal friend Julian Porter by about 3,500 votes. After the election, Scott was one of the Liberal envoys who negotiated an accord with the NDP which allowed the two parties to defeat the Tories in a motion of non-confidence, and then allowed the Liberals to form a minority government with NDP support for two years. He was appointed Attorney General and Minister responsible for Native Affairs on June 26, 1985, and served in these positions throughout the Peterson administration. He was also the province's minister responsible for Women's Issues and Race Relations from 1985 to 1987, and was an acting Solicitor General on two occasions. In the 1987 provincial election, he was easily re-elected in the redistributed riding of St. George—St. David, defeating incumbent St. George Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Susan Fish of the Progressive Conservatives. Scott had been a renowned constitutional lawyer prior to entering politics, and as Attorney-General, he took the unusual step of appearing in court on several occasions to personally argue the government's case. He was considered an activist attorney-general, and instituted a number of reforms including the abolition of appointments as Queen's Counsel, the introduction of Ontario's first freedom of information legislation, and the introduction of an independent panel to recommend judicial appointments (previously, the process had been seen as largely driven by patronage). He also oversaw