[3] Reid was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to a family that was politically active with the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and New Democratic Party.
He began working for Canadian National in 1969 and became active in the trade union movement, serving as a shop steward and executive board member for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
[8] The Progressive Conservatives were re-elected to another majority government, and Reid served as his party's critic for Transportation and Labour.
He led a task force into Manitoba's system of issuing driver's licenses, and chaired a series of public meetings into the status of the province's roads, rails and runways.
[11] In 2005, Reid and fellow NDP MLA Bidhu Jha broke ranks with the Doer government and spoke against plans to create a new hog processing plant in their section of Winnipeg.