[3][5] Smith first attempted to enter provincial politics in the 1981 election, but was defeated by Progressive Conservative incumbent Richard L.
[6] Smith ran again in the 1984 election, defeating Weldon by 903 votes to win the Dartmouth East riding.
[11] On June 11, 1993, Smith was appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia as Minister of Community Services.
[12] On June 27, 1996, Savage shuffled his cabinet, with Smith being named Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs.
[19] Smith was re-elelcted by 265 votes in the 1999 election,[20] but the Liberals were defeated by John Hamm's Progressive Conservatives.