[2][10] Prior to her election to the legislature, Sharma served as vice-chair of the board of directors for Vancity since 2016,[11] and Senior Oil and Gas Campaigner[12] for Stand.earth, an environmental organization founded in 2000.

[1] With incumbent Vancouver-Hastings Member of the Legislative Assembly Shane Simpson declining to run in the 2020 provincial election, Sharma was named the BC NDP candidate for the riding,[14][15] and won the seat with 60.6% of the vote.

[16] On November 26, 2020, Sharma was named Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Non-Profits by Premier John Horgan.

[17] On December 7, 2022, she was appointed by Premier David Eby as Attorney General of British Columbia, and therefore, automatically became a King's Counsel.

[8] In 2023, the bereavement counselling group Moms Stop the Harm wrote to Niki Sharma requesting a forensic audit into the recovery industry due to an untracked number of deaths and number of other recent abuses occurring at their sites.