[1] Cull was first elected to the legislature in a by-election held on December 13, 1989,[2] defeating Social Credit candidate Susan Brice and becoming the first New Democrat to win Oak Bay-Gordon Head.

While Minister of Health, Cull opposed the federal government's proposal to extend patent protection for brand name drugs, and appeared in Ottawa before a Commons legislative committee to speak against the plan.

[7] In 1993, in the mid-term cabinet shuffle, Harcourt appointed Cull Minister of Finance (the first woman to ever hold the position)[8] and Deputy Premier.

[11] The 1995 budget extended the three-year tax freeze, increased post-secondary and health care funding, brought in a long-term debt management plan, and imposed a number of cost-savings measures.

[17] Cull was hired as an adjunct professor at Royal Roads University where she taught leadership, as well as at the United Way of the Lower Mainland's Public Policy Institute[18] and the Women's Campaign School.