 He was secretary-treasurer of the Council for Responsible Firearms Ownership in Manitoba in 1995, and organized a protest against Justice Minister Allan Rock's proposed gun control legislation in January of that year.He supported John Nunziata's decision to leave the Liberal Party of Canada in 1996, after the Liberal government broke a campaign promise to eliminate Canada's Goods and Service Tax.Tardiff was acclaimed as the Reform Party's candidate for Provencher in the 1997 federal election, and received 12,798 votes (35.08%) for a second-place finish against Liberal incumbent David Iftody.