He sought the Liberal nomination in Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke in 1988, challenging the Liberal incumbent Len Hopkins. More than 3,500 people voted in the nomination election, with Hopkins winning by a narrow margin. Clouthier announced he would once again seek the nomination in 1993, but his candidacy was denied by then-party leader Jean Chrétien who protected Hopkins, who had held the seat for twenty five years. Clouthier ran as an independent candidate in the 1993 federal election, getting over 10,000 votes and finishing second to Hopkins. In 1997, Hopkins announced he would not be a candidate in the next federal election. There was a spirited battle for the Liberal nomination and over 4,000 memberships were sold. At the party's local convention, Clouthier defeated three other candidates to win the nomination. He subsequently won the general election and became MP for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke. He was elected by his fellow Liberal MPs as Chair of Eastern Ontario caucus, and was named by the Prime Minister as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of National Defence in 2000. In the 2000 election he was defeated by Canadian Alliance candidate Cheryl Gallant, largely due to his controversial endorsement of gun control, which had become highly unpopular in the region. After the election, he was asked by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to be a Special Advisor in the Prime Minister's Office. He served in the PMO until Paul Martin took over as Prime Minister. Following a long absence from federal politics, Clouthier ran as an independent candidate in the 2011 federal election in his former riding of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke. Clouthier placed second to incumbent Gallant. His tally of almost 10,000 votes was the most earned by any independent candidate in Ontario. In the 2015 federal election, Clouthier again stood as an independent. Following a nationwide surge for the Liberals, Clouthier's vote total fell, and he finished third behind Gallant and the Liberal candidate but Clouthier once again received the most votes of any independent in Ontario.
Personal life
Clouthier comes from a large family with five sisters and four brothers as siblings. He and his spouse Debbie were married in 1975 and they have three sons and two grandsons. In fall 2002, Clouthier met U.S. President George W. Bush in Detroit at a border conference. The American President was "smitten" by Clouthier's fedora and asked for one. Clouthier had a fedora made for the President and sent it to the White House. Following his time in office, Clouthier served as Executive Director of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association from 2007 to 2010. Horse racing in Ontario is a multibillion-dollar industry. An avid horse racer, Clouthier holds a professional harness horse driver's licence. Clouthier resigned as the Executive Director of OHRIA prior to contesting the 2011 federal election. Clouthier has a passion for long-distance running, having completed 39 marathons, including 5 runs of the Boston Marathon. In 2019 he ran the New York Marathon at age 70. In 2017, Clouthier released a book he authored about his life titled "Give 'Em Hec!" and in 2019 he authored another book, this one about the life of his father, Hector Clouthier Sr. This book is called "Mr. Lumberjack".
Membership in Algonquin Nation
Clouthier is a member of the Algonquins of Greater Golden Lake First Nation according to the "Algonquin Nation Standardized Identification Criteria" of the Algonquin Nation Tribal Council.
