He was a Liberal of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1977 to 1981 who represented the riding of Nipissing.
In 1981, Bolan was appointed county court judge in Brampton, Ontario.
He transferred to the Superior Court in North Bay where he ended his judicial career in 2008.
[3] In the 1977 provincial election, Bolan ran as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Nipissing.
In the 1981 election he was defeated by Mike Harris by 4,871 votes under a general drift towards the PC party.