He was also a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1914 to 1920 and from 1932 to 1936, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of John Bracken.
Taylor's public profile had increased between 1915 and 1920, and he was chosen as leader of the Manitoba Conservative Party two years later.
He was selected by the Liberal Party of Canada to run against Conservative Prime Minister Arthur Meighen in the federal election of 1926.
[5] The Liberal Party won the election, and McPherson served for four years as a backbench supporter of William Lyon Mackenzie King's government.
[1] The Liberals were defeated in the 1930 provincial election, and McPherson lost his seat to Conservative candidate William Herbert Burns by 142 votes.
[3] In the 1932 provincial election, McPherson made the questionable decision of challenging Conservative leader Fawcett Taylor again in Portage la Prairie.
He held the latter position until his death of a heart attack while attending his son's wedding anniversary[7] in Kenora, Ontario in 1954.