 He was elected in the Nanaimo—Cowichan electoral district for the Reform Party in the 1993 general election.In 1996, he attracted controversy when he stated in a newspaper interview that store owners should be free to move gays and blacks "to the back of the shop", or even to fire them, if the presence of that individual offended a bigoted customer.Ringma was suspended from the Reform Party caucus for several months after fellow MP Jan Brown spoke out against the prominence of extremist views in the party (although Brown herself was also suspended.)