After being an unsuccessful candidate in the 1898 provincial election, Wells was first elected to the assembly in an 1899 by-election held following the death of William George Nielson.[4] He was named to the provincial cabinet in 1900 as Commissioner of Lands and Works but was dropped from cabinet in 1903 because it was alleged by the opposition that he was an agent of the Canadian Pacific Railway.[5] Wells was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1907.[4] In 1907, he bought the Hume Hotel in Nelson from John Frederick Hume.[6] Wells died in Vancouver at the age of 93.[2]