In May 2005, Miller involved himself in the controversy surrounding the decision of then Conservative Belinda Stronach to cross the floor to the Liberals.
After Tony Abbott, a fellow Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, made remarks comparing Stronach to a prostitute, Miller spoke out on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, condemning Abbott's remarks.
Though Edmonton-Rutherford was perceived as an Alberta Liberal stronghold since the 1989 provincial election (in which Liberal MLA Percy Wickman defeated Premier Don Getty in his own riding), Rick Miller lost by 58 votes to PC candidate Fred Horne in 2008 and widened in the 2012 election.
On October 26, 2013, Miller died of prostate cancer in Edmonton, he was survived by his wife and two children.
[3] An avid flyer of unpowered glider planes, he could often be found at an airfield near Edmonton when he was not working for his family stamp business, involved in politics or attending his regular Rotary club meetings.