The New Democratic Party won a majority government in the 1999 general election under the leadership of Gary Doer. Martindale was easily re-elected in Burrows, defeating controversial school trustee Mike Babinsky of the Liberal Party. He served as a backbench supporter of the Doer government. In 2002, he was appointed to a four-member task force seeking public input on the future of the province's mining and petroleum sectors. There was some speculation that he would be appointed to cabinet after his re-election in 2003, but this did not occur.