Hodgson was elected to the Ontario legislature in a 1994 by-election, defeating Liberal candidate Sharon McCrae by fewer than 2,000 votes in the rural riding of Victoria—Haliburton. The by-election was extremely bitter, and there were many accusations that Hodgson's team appealed to homophobic prejudice in the region to put their candidate over the top. At the time of the by-election, the Liberal Party supported the NDP government's plans to provide increased social benefits for same-sex couples in Bill 167. They reversed their position after Hodgson's victory, amid fears that the issue had cost them rural support.