He served in senior roles in the Conservative Party of Canada in opposition and in government, including 5 years as a Federal Cabinet Minister.
[4] He became a complete quadriplegic on 11 January 1996, after hitting a moose with his vehicle while travelling to a geological engineering job in northern Manitoba.
[20] Fletcher's political views often put him at odds with other campus organizations during much of his tenure, and he was sometimes accused of administrative bias against left-wing groups.
In early 2000, he supported a decision by student council to freeze university funding for The Manitoban, a campus newspaper with a left-leaning editorial board.
[26] Fletcher argued that the university's constitution did not prevent him from participating in provincial politics, and described his opponents as "far left extremists".
Fletcher and Bready said they had been "made aware of a suspicion" that campaign materials were being stored in the student group offices in violation of UMSU election bylaws.
The search was condemned by other campus groups, with UMREG coordinator Rob Altemeyer describing Fletcher's actions as "completely inappropriate".
Bready said they felt warranted since a slate of candidates had already been found guilty earlier in the week of using the Graduate Students' Association office for campaign activities.
[36] After Fletcher's election as party president, Manitoba Public Insurance announced that it would no longer provide travel expenses for his personal assistant.
A representative for MPI argued that attending party functions was not a prerequisite for Fletcher's stated career goal of becoming an elected politician, and indicated that the fund was not legally required to pay for these activities.
[39] Fletcher filed a lawsuit against former provincial cabinet minister Becky Barrett in September 2003, arguing that she had "maliciously" interfered in his legal battles.
[43] Fletcher defeated star Liberal candidate Glen Murray, a popular former Mayor of Winnipeg, by 734 votes in the 2004 election.
[44] The Liberal Party won a minority government nationally, and Fletcher was named as Senior Health Critic in the Official Opposition.
[46] His election created the need for a "stranger to the House"—a person who is not officially an MP or officer of Parliament—in this case, his aide, to actually be on the floor of the Commons during sessions.
On 21 May 2005, he apologized for saying "The Japs were bastards" at a veterans' convention in Winnipeg the previous week, in reference to Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.
He defended the general intent of his remarks, noting that his grandfather had witnessed the Japanese army commit atrocities when he was taken as a prisoner of war after that fall of Singapore.
[54] In November 2005, Fletcher and New Democratic Party MP Pat Martin endorsed a motion to minimize trans-fats in the Canadian food supply.
[56] Fletcher was re-elected with an increased majority in the 2006 federal election, as the Conservatives won a minority government nationally.
[57] In late 2006, he assisted Liberal MP Andy Scott in presenting a motion for a national strategy on the treatment of persons with autism.
[60] He has also received the Courage and Leadership Award from the Canadian Cancer Society,[61] and was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame on 13 November 2006.
[65] There is a book written by Linda McIntosh, a former Member of the Legislative Assembly in Manitoba, about Fletcher's life entitled What Do You Do If You Don't Die?
"Steven Fletcher's journey is an inspiration to all of us since sustaining a high level spinal cord injury only a few years ago.
These include but are not limited to; Canada Post, VIA Rail, Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), Ridley Coal Terminals, and half a dozen federally owned bridges.
[72] On 16 January 2012, Fletcher announced that he was temporarily stepping down from his position as Minister of State for Transport for an unspecified medical procedure.
[74] On 26 March 2012, Fletcher returned to office and resumed full activities as Minister of State (Transport) and Member of Parliament for Charleswood – St. James – Assiniboia – Headingley.
[77] In March 2014, Fletcher introduced a private member's bill to make physician-assisted death legal under Canadian laws.
The book describes events leading up to Fletcher introducing his two private member bills on physician assisted death.
They are; His introduction of private members legislations, opposing a government bill to create a crown corporation for energy efficiency, and a presentation he gave at a town hall hosted by Manitoba Forward.
This bill would remove artificial caps that penalize youth, and the catastrophically injured given Manitoba's no fault system for automobile collisions.
[citation needed] Fletcher also announced that he would be launching a constitutional court challenge against the legislation introduced by the previous government affecting parliamentary privilege.