He was a long-serving member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba,[1] and was a long-time cabinet minister in the New Democratic Party governments led by premiers Gary Doer and Greg Selinger.
When NDP leader Gary Doer became Premier of Manitoba in October 1999, Ashton was appointed Minister of Highways and Government Services.
Following a cabinet shuffle on September 25, 2002, Ashton became Minister of Conservation (in which capacity he argued for national approval of the Kyoto Accord on climate change).
[2] On September 4, 2009, Ashton announced his candidacy to succeed Gary Doer as leader of the Manitoba NDP in the 2009 leadership election and ran on a platform advocating the party's return to its social justice and labour roots.
[9][10] Upon Greg Selinger's election as premier, Ashton was made Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, with the added responsibilities of Emergency Measures and the administration of the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation Act.
[2] After thirty-four and a half years as an MLA, Ashton lost his seat to Progressive Conservative candidate Kelly Bindle in the April 19, 2016, provincial election.
[1] His daughter, Niki, is also a politician and is the federal NDP Member of Parliament for the riding of Churchill—Keewatinook Aski,[13] while his son Alexander was elected chairman of the board of trustees for the School District of Mystery Lake.
[14] Ashton is also Secretary of the Canadian Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles, seeking the return of the treasured sculptures from Britain to Greece.