He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1977 to 1999, and served as a cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative governments of Sterling Lyon and Gary Filmon.
Lyon's Progressive Conservatives defeated the New Democratic Party under Edward Schreyer in this election, and Downey was appointed as Minister of Agriculture on October 24, 1977.
He was transferred again on September 10, 1993, this time to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism with responsibility for the Communities Development Corporation Act.
[1] Downey was again re-elected without difficulty in the 1995 provincial election,[4] and continued to serve as Deputy Premier and Industry Minister until February 5, 1999.
In 2000, Downey endorsed Tom Long's bid to lead the newly formed Canadian Alliance party (National Post, 10 May 2000).