She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 2003, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Mike Harris.
[2] The Tories won a minority government in this election, but were defeated in the house shortly thereafter; Marland held a number of critic's positions in opposition.
[5] She was not immediately appointed to cabinet by Mike Harris, and was defeated by Al McLean in her bid to become Speaker of the legislature.
When McLean was forced to resign in disgrace in 1996, Marland was Harris's choice to be his replacement; the legislature, however, elected Chris Stockwell to the position.
[8] Since her defeat, she has kept largely a low profile, but made a statement critical of Tim Peterson's automatic installation as PC candidate after he crossed the floor, saying that it was "despicable the way this has been dealt with.