Morse graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Allison University, and then received a master"s degree in Business Administration from McMaster University. He finished third in the 1998 election, losing to Liberal incumbent Robbie Harrison.
Morse was a self-employed life and disability insurance broker before running for politics in 1999. Morse first attempted to enter provincial politics in 1998, running as the Progressive Conservative candidate in Kings South. In the 1999 election, Morse was again nominated as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding, this time defeating Harrison.
Morse was re-elected in the 2003 and 2006 elections.
On January 18, 2001, Morse was appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia as Minister of Environment and Labour. In a December 2002 cabinet shuffle, Morse was named Minister of Community Services.
He retained that post following both the 2003 election, and the swearing-in of the Rodney MacDonald government in February 2006. Following the 2006 election, Morse was shuffled to Minister of Natural Resources.
In January 2009, Morse was named Minister of Environment, Minister of Emergency Management, and Minister Responsible for Military Relations.
In the 2009 election, Morse was defeated by NDP candidate Ramona Jennex. On October 27, 2010, Morse announced that was he was seeking the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in the riding of Kings—Hampshire for the 2011 federal election. He became the candidate on January 6, 2011, winning the nomination by acclamation.
On election night, Morse was defeated by Liberal incumbent Scott Brison.
Morse was nominated again as the Conservative candidate in Kings—Hampshire for the 2015 federal election. On October 19, 2015, Brison defeated Morse by over 24,000 votes.
He represented the electoral district of Kings South in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1999 to 2009 as a member of the Progressive Conservatives.
