 Carignan joined the 37th Canadian Parliament on 27 November 2000 after being elected a Liberal member for the Quebec East electoral district.On his election day, however, he was charged with offences relating to a hit and run incident on 3 October 2000.He pleaded guilty to these charges on 6 November 2001 and was sentenced to a partial house arrest and 100 hours of community service that allowed him to attend the House of Commons.