Phillips was educated at the University of Western Ontario's School of Business, and worked as a managing consultant before entering public life. He worked in the marketing department of Procter & Gamble, and joined the Canadian Marketing Associates organization in 1970. Phillips founded the Sales Development Group in 1979 and the Retail Resource Group in 1982, and also served on the Board of Governors of the Scarborough General Hospital during this period. He served as a school trustee for eleven years on the Scarborough Board of Education and the Metropolitan Toronto School Board eventually becoming chair of both organizations.
The Liberals were defeated by the NDP in the provincial election of 1990, although Phillips was re-elected without difficulty in his own riding. Tory Keith MacNab finished second. In opposition, he held critic portfolios in Health, Finance and Native Affairs. In 1992, he supported Lyn McLeod's successful campaign to become party leader. The 1995 provincial election was won by the Progressive Conservatives, and Phillips only narrowly won re-election in Agincourt, defeating Keith MacNab by about 2,000 votes. Many suspected that Phillips would run for the party's leadership when Lyn McLeod resigned in 1996, but he declined and supported Gerard Kennedy, who lost to Dalton McGuinty on the final ballot. Phillips was appointed as the party's Deputy Leader in 1998. He was re-elected in 1999 by nearly 3,000 votes defeating Tory MPP Jim Brown whose own nearby riding of Scarborough West was abolished in the lead-up to the election. The Progressive Conservatives won re-election across the province, and Phillips remained in opposition serving in critic roles such as Native Affairs. Phillips helped lead the fight for a public inquiry into the 1995 shooting death of protester Dudley George by members of the Ontario Provincial Police.
McGuinty government
The Liberal Party won a majority in the 2003 election, and Phillips was re-elected with 61% support in his riding. Phillips was appointed as Chair of the Management Board. After a cabinet shuffle on June 29, 2005, Phillips's portfolio was restructured as the Minister of Government Services. The new Ministry took on most of the core services of the former Management Board Secretariat, Consumer and Business Services, and a large part of the Cabinet Office. He was re-elected in the 2007 election, and was appointed Minister of Energy. In a cabinet shuffle on June 20, 2008, the Energy portfolio was given to George Smitherman. Phillips was appointed minister without portfolio and chair of cabinet. Phillips was appointed Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure on November 9, 2009 after Smitherman resigned to enter municipal politics. On January 18, 2010, he was appointed as minister without portfolio and chair of cabinet, and also became Minister responsible for Seniors. In September 2010, the responsibility for seniors was transferred to Sophia Aggelonitis. In 2011, he announced he would not run for re-election in the 2011 provincial election.
