1999 election

In the provincial election of 1999, she was re-elected by a comfortable margin over Liberal Dave Ryan in the redistributed riding of Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge.^[3] After the election, she was named to the senior portfolio of Minister of Education.^[4] Ecker also served as Government House Leader after February 8, 2001.^[5] In 1998, she supported Hugh Segal's bid for the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservative Party.

Ecker's best-known controversy as Education Minister was not with the legislative opposition or the teaching community, but with Jim Flaherty, another cabinet minister in the Harris government. In 2001, Flaherty announced that the government planned to introduce a tax credit for parents choosing to send their children to private and denominational schools. Flaherty's announcement broke a 1999 campaign pledge from Harris not to introduce such legislation. Flaherty reportedly did not consult with Ecker prior to making his statement. Ecker opposed this shift in policy, and according to some accounts was initially prepared to quit cabinet over the issue. She was persuaded to stay, but remained on very poor terms with Flaherty. As a result of this controversy, Ecker became a leading spokesperson for "moderate conservative" positions in her party, against the right-wing views of Flaherty and Harris. ^{[citation needed]}

When Harris resigned as party leader in 2002, many anticipated that Ecker would join the contest to replace him. Instead, she supported the candidacy of Ernie Eves, who won by defeating Flaherty in the second round of balloting. Ecker was named Minister of Finance on April 15, 2002.^[6] Shortly after being named as Finance Minister, Ecker announced that the Eves government would postpone the previously-announced private-school tax credit. ^{[citation needed]}

Ecker also introduced the Eves government's Keeping the Promise for a Strong Economy Act (Budget Measures), 2002.

In 2003, Ecker delivered her provincial budget at an auto parts factory owned by Magna International, rather than in the legislature. ^[why?] The move was widely criticized, even by some members of the Progressive Conservative party. Despite her previous opposition, Ecker re-introduced the private-school tax credit in this budget. ^{[why?] [citation needed]}

The Eves government was defeated in the provincial election of 2003, and Ecker herself was narrowly defeated by Wayne Arthurs of the Liberal Party.^[7]

Cabinet positions