He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1973 to 1981, and served in the cabinet of Premier Sterling Lyon.
The amalgamation was unpopular with many St. James residents, and Minaker successfully used the issue to win election to the Manitoba Legislature in the riding of the same name, defeating NDP incumbent Al Mackling in the provincial election of 1973 by 374 votes.
He was re-elected by a greater margin (besting Curtis Nordman of the NDP by 2346 votes) in the 1977 election,[4] in which the Tories under Sterling Lyon won a majority government.
[1] The NDP replaced the PCs' majority with one of their own in 1981, and Minaker lost his own riding to Al Mackling by 779 votes.
He was not appointed to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's cabinet, and lost to Liberal challenger John Harvard in 1988 by 1702 votes after representing the district for the 33rd Canadian Parliament.