Kankaanniemi was also a minister in the cabinet of Esko Aho from 1991 to 1994, responsible for international development as well as alcohol issues.

He resigned from the cabinet in 1994, citing his opposition to the European Union, which Finland was about to join.

[2] After retiring from the Parliament Kankaanniemi resigned his membership in the Christian Democrats and, in 2012, joined the Finns Party (True Finns) as a candidate in that year's municipal election.

In the 2015 parliamentary election Kankaanniemi returned to the parliament as a Finns Party MP.

After admitting to sending sexually suggestive messages over Facebook to several women, Kankaanniemi was removed from the Finns Party's government negotiation team.