ManitobaFormer Winnipeg Blue Bomber Willard Reaves has been named the new leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party.Reaves, 66, rises to top job after other Liberal candidates failed to meet requirementsCBC News · Posted: Sep 29, 2025 1:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours agoWillard Reaves was declared Manitoba Liberal Party leader on Monday. (CBC)Former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Willard Reaves has been named the new leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party.Reaves, 66, was declared winner of the party leadership contest on Monday. No other candidates met the requirements of running for leader by the deadline on Saturday. As a result, Reaves was the sole qualified candidate and declared winner without a vote, according to Sam Dixon, the party’s executive director.Dixon confirmed a leadership convention that would have otherwise taken place on Oct. 25 has been cancelled.Reaves, a star running back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1983 to 1987 fills a void left by former party leader Dougald Lamont, who was elected MLA for St. Boniface in 2018 and served that constituency until losing his seat in the 2023 provincial election.He resigned and Cindy Lamoureux has been interim leader ever since.Reaves first ran for the Manitoba Liberals in a March 2022 byelection in Fort Whyte. He lost to Progressive Conservative candidate Obby Khan, who was is now the leader of that party.He ran again in the riding for the Liberals and lost in the fall 2023 provincial election. Lamoureux (Tyndall Park) was the lone Liberal elected, so the Liberals failed to meet the minimum threshold of four MLAs required for official party status.Former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Willard Reaves, left, is joined by former Manitoba Liberal leader Jon Gerrard on Sept. 7 as Reaves announced his intention to run for leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party. (Gavin Axelrod/CBC)Reaves briefly served as deputy leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party from November 2023 to June 2024.He launched his leadership campaign earlier this month. Reaves, who lives in Fort Whyte, said at the launch that he had not yet decided which riding he would run in during the next general election.Terry Hayward, president of the Liberals, said Reaves will transition into the new position over the coming weeks.”Mr. Reaves brings a wide range of experiences to the position of party leader,” Hayward said in a statement. “He will work closely with Cindy Lamoureux, our sitting member, to champion issues and concerns of Manitobans across the province.”‘With files from Susan Magas
Former Blue Bomber Willard Reaves named new leader of Manitoba Liberal Party
