He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1949 to 1953, as a member of the social-democratic Cooperative Commonwealth Federation.
[1] During this period's Winnipeg was divided into three constituencies, each of which elected four members through a single transferable ballot.
Stinson later described Fines as "a quiet man with firm opinions and a flair for statistics and fiscal matters".
Fines ran for the CCF in the St. Matthew's constituency, but lost to Progressive Conservative William G. Martin[1] by 822 votes.
He lost to Martin by 545 votes in the 1959 election, and finished third as a candidate of the New Democratic Party (successor to the CCF) in the 1962 campaign.