[1] Northrup has acted as official Opposition critic for energy and NB Power issues.
He acted the critic for Department of Natural Resources interests and the official Opposition whip.
[1] He was re-elected in September 2010, and served as the Minister of Natural Resources,[2][3] until the 2014 election of the 58th New Brunswick Legislature, at which time he became the Public Safety critic.
In February 2020, Northrup challenged Blaine Higgs' controversial and later cancelled decision to limit access to healthcare in rural areas by closing several rural hospital emergency departments.
[4] He announced his leave from provincial politics later that year;[5] he returned to politics in 2024, having switched to the Liberal Association, and announced his intention to seek the Liberal nomination for Sussex-Three Rivers in the 2024 provincial election.