Patterson has served as a director of the Northwest Territories Law Foundation and as chair of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Legal Services Board until 2000. He became a private consultant in 2001.[2]
Patterson was named to the Senate of Canada by Stephen Harper on August 27, 2009.[3] He represented Nunavut as a Conservative until February 4, 2022, when he announced he would be leaving the Conservative Senators Group to join the Canadian Senators Group in protest over other Conservative members support of the "Freedom Convoy" protests.[4] Patterson retired from the Senate of Canada on December 29, 2023.[5]