[3] He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a by-election held on November 24, 1900,[1] defeating Victor Mager by 154 votes in the St. Boniface constituency.

[1] Early in 1915, the entire Roblin administration was forced to resign after the Lieutenant Governor issued a report which found the government had been guilty of corrupt practices in the tendering of contracts for new legislative buildings.

He ran as a candidate of the Conservative Party of Canada in the federal riding of St. Boniface, and lost to Liberal John Power Howden by 2,668 votes.

Liberal candidate L.P. Gagnon was initially declared the winner by one vote, but a recount saw Bernier confirmed as the victor.

Bernier lost his seat for the final time in the 1932 campaign, falling to Labour candidate Harold Lawrence[1] by 504 votes.

He actually won a plurality of votes on the first count, but fell behind on transfers, Lawrence proving to be the more popular overall choice of voters.