 He ran unsuccessfully to represent Nicolet in the House of Commons in 1877 and 1878, losing to François-Xavier-Ovide Méthot each time.Turcotte was elected in a 1907 by-election held after Charles Ramsay Devlin resigned his seat to become a member of the Quebec cabinet.He was reelected in the 1908 federal election but was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1911.