The junior ministry positions were eliminated in 1995, by the incoming government of Mike Harris.

Nickerson supported the energy policies of the previous government of Mike Harris, which he argued encouraged conservation by forcing consumers to pay higher rates.

He served as a backbencher supporter of the government of Mike Harris for the next four years.

He supported the provincial workfare program, introduced by the provincial government of Mike Harris.

By 2000, under the government of Mike Harris, the budget had been cut to $300 million and the local representatives had been eliminated.

In 1996, he argued before a provincial committee against proposed changes to Ontario's labour laws by the right-wing government of Mike Harris.

The provincial government of Mike Harris undertook an extensive program of municipal mergers between 1996 and 2002.

The later government of Mike Harris subsequently dissolved four regional municipalities into amalgamated single-tier cities.

He was a particularly strong critic of the governments of Ralph Klein and Mike Harris.

In 1996, the government of Mike Harris reduced the number of provincial ridings from 130 to 103.