In 2001, Barnhart's book Peace, Progress and Prosperity (ISBN 0-88977-142-1), which provided the first detailed biography of Saskatchewan's first premier, Thomas Walter Scott, was first published.

On April 28, 2006, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Gordon Barnhart would replace Lynda Haverstock as Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan.

[1] The University of Saskatchewan announced that Barnhart would return to the faculty of the Department of History as of April 1, 2012 as an adjunct professor.

[2] On May 21, 2014, it was announced that Barnhart had been appointed interim President at the University of Saskatchewan to replace Ilene Busch-Vishniac who was fired.

[6] During his 2021 re-election for the Municipalities of Saskatchewan presidency, Barnhart was found to be vacationing in Hawaii despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the border between the United States and Canada being closed to nonessential travel.

He also plans on travelling a great deal to continue the office's accessibility to average Saskatchewanians provided by Haverstock.