She was hired by the government of Quebec in 1974 as a supervisor of program development and a teacher trainer, holding these positions until 1979. She worked as a special assistant to Pierre de Bane, the Minister of Regional and Economic Development, in 1981. She left the following year to become a sales representative for Alec Murray Real Estate.
Phinney won another easy victory in the 2000 election.[6] She faced a much more difficult re-election in the election of 2004, with both NDP candidate Chris Charlton and Conservative city councillor Tom Jackson posing credible challenges. In a close three-way race, Phinney defeated Charlton by 996 votes.[7]
Phinney was one of the few Liberal members of Parliament to support Sheila Copps' leadership bid in 2003. She subsequently attempted to mediate the dispute between Copps and Tony Valeri for the Liberal nomination in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, offering to stand down to let Copps run in her riding. Copps rejected this offer.[8]
In May 2005, she announced that she was retiring from politics and would not run in the next election.[9]