He worked as a lawyer before entering politics, and was a member of the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre, the Canadian Shield Foundation and the Big Brother's Association of Manitoba.
After the election, Chomiak joined with 19 other NDP MLAs as the official opposition to Gary Filmon's government.
He again increased his margin of victory in the 1999 election, defeating PC candidate Shannon Martin by 6101 votes to 2542.
In 2003, Chomiak supported Bill Blaikie's campaign to lead the federal New Democratic Party.
Chomiak had been the longest-serving health minister in Canada prior to this shuffle, and there were rumours that he requested a transfer to a less stressful portfolio.