Raised in Gunners Cove, Trevor Taylor has been extensively involved in the fishery at several levels. He worked as a fisherman harvesting cod until the moratorium in 1992 and was skipper for three years of the 55-foot shrimp / crab boat Cull's Eclipse. He is a past executive board member of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers' (FFAW) Union and worked for six years as a staff member of the Union. He served two terms as a member of the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (FRCC) and served as a member of the Oxfam fisheries delegation to Nicaragua. He has served on the boards of the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI), the St. Anthony Basin Resources Inc. (SABRI), and the White Bay North Rural Development Association. Trevor has also taught off-campus fisheries courses for the Marine Institute.

Trevor was elected to the House of Assembly in a by-election in the district of The Straits & White Bay North on January 30, 2001 and served as the Opposition critic for Fisheries and Aquaculture and for Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs. On October 21, 2003, he was re-elected as the Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for The Straits & White Bay North and, on November 6, he was sworn in as the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Minister Responsible for Labrador Affairs. He was confirmed as Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture in the government restructuring of February 20, 2004.

On November 8, 2005, Mr. Taylor was appointed Minister of Transportation and Works.

On July 5, 2006, Mr. Taylor was appointed Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

On October 30, 2007, Mr. Taylor was appointed Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development and Minister Responsible for the Rural Secretariat.