[3] In 1973 he was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to Premier Frank Moores and the following year he was sworn into cabinet as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
[6] Peckford was appointed Minister of Mines and Energy on September 9, 1976, replacing John Crosbie who was leaving provincial politics to run federally.
Peckford said he pushed for these terms with oil companies after seeing resource give aways in the mining sector as well as the Upper Churchill Falls hydroelectric deal.
[7] While Peckford was able to negotiate an agreement with oil companies over drilling in the continental shelf, the province was engaged in ownership dispute with the federal Liberal government over offshore petroleum resources.
[9][18] On election day Peckford led his party to its third straight majority government, they won 50 percent of the popular vote and 33 of the 52 seats in the House of Assembly.
[19][20] Resource management dominated Peckford's ten years as Premier of Newfoundland, particularly offshore oil, the fisheries, and hydroelectric developments.
The Peckford government sought to develop power on the Lower Churchill River, but could not secure a transmission route through Quebec into lucrative American and Canadian markets.
[22][23] During his heated dispute with the federal government Peckford called an election for April 6, 1982, hoping to regain a mandate to continue his tough stance with Ottawa and renegotiate the Upper Churchill contract with Quebec.
[25][26][27] During his election victory speech Peckford stated that "I am more convinced than I have any time in the past that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians speak [with] one voice when we all say one day the sun will shine and have-not will be no more", words that went on to become a household phrase in the province.
[28][29] In March 1984 the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government owned the right to develop minerals on the continental shelf off Canada's coast.
[30] Peckford shifted his efforts to gaining joint management and most of the revenues from offshore oil resources and embarked on a cross-Canada tour to drum up support for the province's position.
[34] He self-proclaimed himself the "Great Negotiator" for the Atlantic Accord but during the election he was hounded by teachers and public service employees who were upset with the two year government-imposed wage freeze.
[36] A poll released just days before the vote showed the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals were tied at 41.5 percent outside St. John's, while Peckford's Tories led in the capital city.
Peckford also brought in the first pay equity policy, established the first Status of Women Council, and in 1983 appointed Margaret Cameron as the province's first woman Supreme Court justice.
In 1980 the new provincial flag, his government is responsible for the Department of Environment, they brought in grade 12 to the high school curriculum, and started construction on the Trans-Labrador Highway.
While the greenhouses were supposed to create jobs, tap into a profitable export market, and supply local consumers with fresh and affordable vegetables year-round, they ended up being an economic disaster.
On January 21, 1989, he announced he was leaving politics, Tom Rideout was chosen as his successor in March, and the PC Party was defeated in the provincial election the following month by the Liberals.
He relocated to British Columbia in the early 1990s and in 1998 was appointed to lead a one-person inquiry into the state of Fraser River salmon stocks and fishery management.