[1][2] Norquay came from an Anglo-Métis ethnic background (the contemporary term used was "half-breed", which was not then considered offensive and is even an important constitutional designation, given the rights afforded to them in the Manitoba Act of 1870).

Norquay played only a minor role in the events of Louis Riel's Red River Rebellion (1869–70), but decided to enter public life shortly thereafter.

Manitoba's first government (which did not have a premier) lost a vote of confidence in July 1874, after Norquay's electoral redistribution bill met with opposition from both English and French MLAs.

In Manitoba's second election (December 30, 1874), he was a leader of the opposition; running in St. Andrew's South, he defeated former Girard minister Edward Henry Hay by 67 votes to 34.

Now, he sought to forge a new parliamentary alliance with opposition leader Thomas Scott, an Orangeman and a leading figure among the new Ontario settlers (not to be confused with the man of the same name executed by Louis Riel) in 1870.

Norquay countered the Royal-Scott "coup attempt" by forging a new parliamentary alliance with all of the province's British MLAs (except Scott), and expelling his French Canadian ministers from cabinet.

As a result, he was compelled to walk a thin line between local and federal alliances; eventually, his inability to successfully navigate this course led to his downfall.

Although popular with farmers and merchants, these plans were opposed by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), which had a guaranteed 20-year monopoly on "western travel" through the area (some historians have argued that the "local service lines" were a financial impossibility to begin with).

Although Norquay initially gave tepid support to these local efforts, the opposition accused him (probably correctly) of having made a secret deal with the CPR and John A. Macdonald, Canadian prime minister, to ensure that they never came to fruition.

When Macdonald disallowed Norquay's half-hearted railway legislation in 1882, a coherent local opposition began to form around Thomas Greenway, whose "Provincial Rights" group would soon become the Manitoba Liberal Party.

Norquay's alliance with Macdonald ended in the summer of 1887, when the provincial government reversed its previous policy and actively promoted the Red River Valley Railway, a local line meant to link Winnipeg with the Canada–United States border.

His ministry's fate was sealed when Macdonald disallowed the transfer of CPR land to Manitoba, after Norquay's government had already paid $256,000 to the company in compensation.

He once again became leader of the opposition, but with a much reduced political base: he was now opposed by John A. Macdonald, distrusted by other Manitoba Conservatives, lacking in popular support, and suffering personal financial hardship.

He was the victim of some racial slurs (Legislative Councilor Donald Gunn once referred to him as "Greasy John"), but his longevity in office suggests that Manitobans were willing to accept an aboriginal premier, despite the tensions caused by Louis Riel's rebellions.