Gariépy made a first, abortive, bid for provincial office during the 1905 Alberta election, when he planned to run as an independent Liberal in St. Albert but withdrew before the election. He stayed in the race until election day in the 1909 election (while he was still an alderman in Edmonton), running in the same riding and under the same banner after refusing to contest the Liberal nomination on the grounds that he considered it rigged in favour of Lucien Boudreau. Gariépy was defeated by Boudreau in the election itself, finishing second of three candidates.