In 1976, Lessard was appointed to PremierRené Lévesque's Cabinet. He served as Minister of Public Works until 1977, Minister of Transportation until 1979 and Minister of Recreation, Hunting and Fishing from 1979 to 1982, during which he helped trigger a series of controversial police raids on the Mi'gmaq community of Restigouche, a role he discussed with Alanis Obomsawin in her 1984 film Incident at Restigouche.[2][3] Lessard resigned his seat and retired from politics in 1982.