 In 1993, Stewart ran in a federal election as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the riding of Egmont.He was defeated by then-incumbent Liberal MP Joe McGuire, who won with a plurality of approximately 3,700 votes.He was accused of wasting $1.3 million of taxpayers' money, which was forwarded as a purported deposit towards a Michael Jackson tribute concert that never ended up happening, "In January 2011, the city filed a complaint with the United States District Court, Northern District of California, San Jose Division, for fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, negligent misrepresentation and rescission (rescinding) of a contract against Katrina Berg Sussmeier and Starlink Productions Inc."

At the 2014 Summerside mayoral election, Bill Martin, a Summerside businessman, was elected mayor with a vote of 4614 compared to Stewart's 2092, thus ending Stewart's 29-year run as mayor of Summerside.