He was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly as a Conservative Party member for Annapolis East, then resigned his seat when appointed a stipendiary magistrate.

He was later elevated to judge on the trial division of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, and was one of the founding members of the Western Counties Bar Association.

He was among the first recipients of the Order of Merit established by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1962, was named a Queen's Counsel in recognition of his legal career, and was inducted into the builder category of Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in 1980.

Dowell also sought for Allan Cup finals games to be hosted locally if a team from the Maritimes were the Eastern Canada champion.

[9] In 1939, Dowell argued for an extension to the deadline to establish residency, and stated that many teams in the Maritimes depended on natural ice surfaces and few leagues began play before January.

[15] Dowell applied for CAHA approval of players to be imported by the Cape Breton Senior Hockey League for the 1940–41 season, which included war time exemptions for students and employment transfers.

[17][18] Despite the local uproar, Dowell changed the playoffs format into a best-of-three series which was subsequently defaulted in favour of the Sydney Millionaires.

[19] During the 1941 Memorial Cup playoffs in Eastern Canada, Dowell discontinued the series between the Ottawa Canadiens and the Charlottetown Royals after playing only game.

[21] The CAHA continued plans to operate hockey during the war with assurance that it was supported by the government to maintain the morale of the Canada people.

[4][30] The CAHA expanded its practice of covering travel expenses for junior teams in the Memorial Cup playoffs to include the inter-provincial stages in addition to the national finals.

He anticipated that the focus of the upcoming general meeting in 1946 would discuss methods for the CAHA to regulate the international transfer of players and prevent rosters in Canada from being depleted.

The CAHA sought a more lucrative financial arrangement, but was at a disadvantage due to competition from professional leagues in Europe, and that it wanted to main good relations with the NHL which had paid for players it signed then lost to the war.

The Ottawa Senators of the Quebec Senior Hockey League sought a court injunction to prevent the signing two players mid-season.

Dowell felt that most of Selke's points had merit and generally approved of the concept, since leaving players in junior hockey until age 20 would be better overall across Canada.

Dowell then announced the Edmonton Junior Canadians were to attend the 1947 Ice Hockey World Championships, pending an exhibition tour in Europe to cover the team's travel expenses.

[44][45] After the proposed tour would be insufficient to cover travel costs, Edmonton declined the offer as they were unable to make their own financial arrangements.

They expected a lengthy debate over whether the AHAUS would be recognized as the hockey authority in the United States as opposed to the Amateur Athletic Union which was the existing LIHG member.

Brown and Bunny Ahearne to pass a motion in which the LIHG voted to ban any member organization which controlled more than one sport, which expelled the AAU and accepted the AHAUS instead.

[52] Upon Dowell's return from Europe, he stated that Canada had greater likelihood of participating in ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics, and the recognition of AHAUS as a LIHG member would regulate movement of players internationally and prevent rosters of Canadian teams from being depleted.

[53] Dowell also announced plans for the Sweden men's national ice hockey team to play an exhibition tour Canada in advance of the 1948 Winter Olympics.

[58] He remained active in attending the annual general meetings,[59] and oversaw the senior hockey playoffs in Eastern Canada on behalf of the CAHA.

[1][3][4] Dowell was a Conservative Party candidate in the 1960 Nova Scotia general election for the newly established district of Annapolis East.

He was elected to the 47th General Assembly of Nova Scotia by defeating Henry Hicks, the Leader of the Opposition and the Liberal Party candidate.

[63][64] Dowell took his seat in a majority government led by Robert Stanfield, and was speculated by the Canadian Press as a candidate for a cabinet position due to his background as a lawyer and as a prominent hockey executive.