ManitobaWillard Reaves has announced his intention to run for leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party, promising to rebuild a party that currently has just one seat in the Manitoba Legislature.Willard Reaves promises to rebuild party if elected leaderDave Baxter · CBC News · Posted: Sep 07, 2025 7:08 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoFormer Winnipeg Blue Bomber Willard Reaves, left, is joined by former Manitoba Liberal leader Jon Gerrard on Sunday as Reaves announces his intention to run for leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party. (Gavin Axelrod/CBC)Willard Reaves has announced his intention to run for leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party, promising to rebuild a party that currently has just one seat in the Manitoba Legislature. “It’s time to build this party up to where it needs to be, and beyond where it’s ever been before,” the former football great said Sunday during a media conference at the front steps of the Manitoba Legislative Building, where he was joined by former Manitoba Liberal leader Jon Gerrard.”I think with my leadership, we can do this, and with the help of people all around this great province, the Liberal Party can be a force to be reckoned with.”Reaves was a star running back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1983 until 1987. He also played three games in the National Football League during his football career. In October 2021, Reaves ran as the Liberal Party’s candidate in the 2022 Fort Whyte byelection, a race he lost to current Manitoba Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan. He was beaten by Khan again in the riding when he ran in the 2023 Manitoba general election.On Nov. 28, 2023, he was named deputy leader of the Manitoba Liberals, but he stepped down from that position a few months later on June 26, 2024.The provincial Liberals won only a single seat in the 2023 provincial election, but Reaves said he believes he can get the party back to respectability. “I want to get the party moving first,” he said. “I want to get a foothold on what we need to do as a party and we’ve got to talk to all the stakeholders.”That includes the NDP, the PCs, independents, everybody.”The party is scheduled to hold its next leadership contest on Oct. 25. So far, no other candidates have stepped into the ring to run for the leadership, leaving Reaves unopposed as of now. The former Bomber currently lives in the Fort Whyte riding in Winnipeg, but said Sunday he has still not decided which riding he would run in during a general election. In the 2023 provincial election, the Liberals, under the leadership of former leader Dougald Lamont, won just a single seat, dropping their seat count in the Legislature from three when that election was called.Cindy Lamoureux, who holds the only seat for the Liberals in the Tyndall Park riding, said in June she would not be seeking the leadership of the party. She has been interim leader since Lamont lost his St. Boniface seat to NDP candidate Robert Loiselle in the 2023 election, and resigned as leader after the loss. Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor in political studies at the University of Manitoba, said he was not surprised when he heard Reaves would vie for the leadership of the Manitoba Liberals, but said there could be some concerns about his relative inexperience in politics. “Clearly, he’s got the political bug. He’s interested in politics; he’s had an opportunity to knock on doors, and has a fairly good profile in the provincial party,” Adams said. “The one thing against him is he’s never held a seat in the Legislature or held a seat in city council, or Parliament.”Should Reaves go unchallenged in next month’s leadership race and be acclaimed, Adams said he believes that would turn out to be a negative for the Manitoba Liberals. “If it’s just an acclamation, there’s not going to be a lot of media attention,” he said. “There will be less attention paid to the Liberals, but if one or two other quality candidates run, that will say that the party is worth running for.”ABOUT THE AUTHORDave Baxter is an award-winning reporter and editor currently working for CBC Manitoba. Born and raised in Winnipeg, he has also previously reported for the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press, as well as several rural Manitoba publications.
Former Blue Bomber jumps into Manitoba Liberal leadership race
