Tilley was elected to the provincial legislature in 1916 as a ConservativeMLA and became a cabinet minister in 1925 under Premier John B. M. Baxter. In 1931 Baxter's successor, Charles D. Richards made Tilley Minister of Lands and Mines, a position he held until succeeding Richards in 1933 as Premier. The Conservative government, despite two changes in premiers, was unable to deal with the Great Depression or maintain public confidence and Tilley's government was defeated in the 1935 election.
During the federal Liberal-Conservative Party's 1927 national convention in Winnipeg, Tilley was chosen to nominate R. B. Bennett as one of six leadership candidates. Bennett was an old friend with whom he had attended both elementary school and university. Tilley's endorsement of Bennett was blunt and prescient: "I nominate a gentleman whom, I believe, will be a winner." Bennett won the leadership race and became Prime Minister three years later.[1]
After leaving politics, Tilley became a county court judge for King and Albert Counties serving from 1935 to 1945. He also served as Admiralty Judge for New Brunswick.
^Boyko, John (2012). Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged and Changed a Nation (2nd ed.). Fredericton, New Brunswick: Goose Lane Editions. p. 154. ISBN978-0-86942-669-2.
