 From 1975 to 1981, he was the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.In 1981, Trudeau appointed Liberal MP Peter Stollery to the Senate so Coutts could run for the House of Commons of Canada in what was thought of as the safe Ontario riding of Spadina.The plan backfired when Coutts narrowly lost to New Democrat Dan Heap despite personal interventions from Trudeau.