Rivard served in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1985 to 1994 as a member of the Liberal Party and was a junior minister in the government of Robert Bourassa.
He also worked in various capacities at the Université de Montréal from 1967 to 1982, when he entered public administration as the deputy minister for Social Affairs in the Government of Quebec.
This appointment came at a time when linguistic tensions were increasing in Quebec, and The Globe and Mail newspaper described his new position as "the hottest political seat in the province."
This legislation was enacted by the Parti Québécois government of René Lévesque in 1977, and one of its more controversial provisions was a restriction on the use of languages other than French on commercial signs.
[6] Rivard's handling of the language legislation was criticized in some circles, and a Toronto Star article in February 1989 described him as "inexperienced, easily flustered, naive, a trifle pedantic" and "the kind of cabinet minister that a hungry opposition dreams about.
[8] Rivard was narrowly re-elected in the 1989 provincial election, defeating Parti Québécois challenger Sylvain Simard by only 133 votes.
[9] In the same year, he expressed skepticism about Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's plans to link foreign aid to human rights.