While retired from politics, he chaired a regional forestry marketing board for eight years before he sought re-election in the new, though largely unchanged, riding of Nepisiguit in 2003, where he defeated incumbent Progressive Conservative Joel Bernard by a margin of nearly 2-to-1.
In October 2005, the North Shore Forest Products marketing board, of which Branch is general manager, was taken under investigation for unspecified reasons.
On January 13, 2006, Branch left the Liberal caucus to sit as an independent pending the outcome of the investigation and on March 23, 2006, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that he had been fired.
He served as chair of the legislature's Public Accounts Committee from the 2003 election until he left the Liberal caucus to sit as an independent.
He was additionally ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution to the North Shore Forest Products Marketing Board.