After the 1993 federal election Rick worked for two financial services companies CIBC and Newcourt Credit Group before co-founding the investor relations firm Genoa Management.

[4] On November 9, 2021, Perkins was named Shadow Minister for Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard by Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole.

[13] In a post-leadership interview with the National Post Perkins stated that the Conservative caucus was now “totally united” behind Poilievre despite what the tone of the leadership contest might have indicated.

Perkins called on her to respect the Supreme Court’s R v Marshall decision, which stated that the Mi’kmaq treaty rights could be regulated and that the Mi'kmaq were not guaranteed an open season in the fisheries.

[18] After defeating Jordan in the 2021 Canadian federal election, Perkins stated in an interview with Global News that he would seek to "find a path forward that [would] bring everyone under the same set of rules and the same regulation through DFO.