From 1873 to 1878, he was reeve of New Hamburg and served as Warden of Waterloo County in 1878. After losing a by-election in 1878 in the Ontario provincial riding of Waterloo South, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the federal riding of Waterloo South in the 1878 federal election.
A Conservative, he was defeated in the 1882 election but was appointed to the Senate in 1887 representing the senatorial division of Hamburg, Ontario. He served until his death in 1908.