He was first elected to the House of Commons as the representative for Kenora—Rainy River in 1988, beating NDP incumbent John Parry.

Nault also served as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in the cabinet of Jean Chrétien from 1999 to 2003.

[2] In February 2004, he announced he would leave politics to set up a consulting business, Western Frontier International Group.

[2] In January 2015, Nault announced his intention to seek the Liberal Party of Canada nomination for Kenora, which includes nearly all of his old riding, in the 2015 federal election scheduled for October 19.

Incumbent Conservative and cabinet minister Greg Rickford was pushed into third place.