The son of Frank Luther Ernst and Stella Sarah Bryson, he was born in Winnipeg and was educated at St. Paul's College (affiliated with the University of Manitoba).
[2] During his time in municipal politics, Ernst was associated with the Independent Citizens' Election Committee, an unofficial alliance of right-wing business interests in the city.
[2] Ernst left municipal politics to run for the provincial legislature in the 1986 Manitoba general election.
He was elected in the southwest Winnipeg riding of Charleswood as a Progressive Conservative, defeating his closest opponent by almost 4,000 votes.
He has also served as Chief Executive Officer of the Team Canada Volleyball Centre, and presided over the elimination of that organization's debt in 2002.