In 1987 he contested Cochrane North (located in the province's northeastern corner) in the 1987 provincial election, but lost to Liberal incumbent René Fontaine by almost 4,000 votes.
[2] The NDP won the 1990 provincial election and Wood defeated Liberal Donald Grenier to win Cochrane North by 143 votes.
[4] Voting trends in the 1995 provincial election were against the NDP in most parts of Ontario, and the party fell from government to third-party status.
In Cochrane North, Wood countered the provincial trend and dramatically increased his majority: he defeated Liberal candidate Gilles Gagnon by almost 2,000 votes.
Redistribution eliminated Cochrane North in the 1999 provincial election, and Wood sought re-election in the newly formed riding of Timiskaming—Cochrane.