A member of the Liberal Party, she represented the Toronto riding of Parkdale-High Park in the House of Commons of Canada through three successive parliaments from June 2, 1997 to January 22, 2006.
Bulte chaired the Ontario caucus, travelled extensively to advocate for Canada's seat on the UN Security Council and was frequently called upon to deal directly with foreign parliaments in her capacity as Canadian head of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
Bulte took the position that downloading music, films, novels and other works of art without permission robbed the creators of their right to profit from their creativity.
During the 2006 federal election, Bulte was criticized by law professor Michael Geist,[1] historian Jack Granatstein[2] and blogger Cory Doctorow[3] among others.
Adding to the controversy, in January 2006 a $250-a-plate fund raiser was hosted for her by lobbyists from the film, music and video game industries.