Snobelen ran for the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1990, placing third behind incumbent Liberal Steve Offer and a New Democrat in Mississauga North.
[3] Shortly after his appointment, Snobelen was filmed arguing that the PC government needs to "bankrupt" and to create a "useful crisis" in the education system so as to initiate significant reforms.
This controversy provoked several calls for his resignation, and further unsettled the relationship between the government and the teaching community, which were already tense after the previous NDP administration unilaterally imposed a Social Contract.
Arguments with the teacher's unions and accusations that a high school dropout who didn't understand the education portfolio led to his transfer.
[5] Shortly after his transfer, Ontario's public school teachers entered a two-week strike against the Harris government, with much of their anger directed against the reforms proposed by Snobelen.
[7] In late 2002, it was reported that Snobelen was spending most of his time at a private cattle ranch in Oklahoma while still drawing a Member of Provincial Parliament's (MPP) salary.