 He was elected in the 1998 Nova Scotia election and was subsequently re-elected in the 1999, 2003, 2006 and 2009 provincial elections.Estabrooks was appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia in June 2009 where he served as Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal and Minister of Energy until his resignation from cabinet in May 2012.On September 10, 2010, Estabrooks announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in November 2008.