In the mid 1980s, she decided to challenge longtime incumbent NDP MLA Donald Malinowski for the nomination in the North End Winnipeg riding of St. Johns, which was generally considered a safe seat for the party. "Everyone said it was impossible to beat Father Malinowski," she said. Wasylycia-Leis' campaign for the nomination gained so much momentum that it led Malinowski to drop out of the race. In the end, she won the 1986 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative John Baluta by almost two thousand votes.