He served as a Cabinet Minister in the governments of Dufferin Roblin, Walter Weir, Sterling Lyon and Gary Filmon,[1] and was an unsuccessful candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba in 1971.
[4] The Manitoba Indian Brotherhood came out in opposition to the scheme, as did the Liberals and New Democrats, and the planned flooding became a significant issue in the 1969 provincial election.
He continued to hold this portfolio until the Filmon government was defeated in 1999,[1] and was responsible for managing the AIDA and NISA files during the flood emergency of 1997.
The contest highlighted the ideological divisions of the party: Enns, who represented its rural and conservative wing, lost to urban progressive Sidney Spivak by 46 votes.
During the mid-1980s, Enns was a vocal opponent of officially re-entrenching French-language services in Manitoba (a policy being pursued by the New Democratic government of Howard Pawley).
A philosophical conservative, Enns was also responsible for weakening market board control over Manitoba's hog farms, and appears to have had similar intentions regarding its fishing industry.
At a time when the public mood was anti cannabis, Harry was the first politician of power, to stand and risk his reputation, in order to help Manitoba farmers.