Reed was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1975 provincial election as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Gary Dawkins by 463 votes in Halton—Burlington.
[2][3] The Progressive Conservatives were the governing party in Ontario throughout this period, and Reed served for ten years as a member of the opposition.
Reed returned to political life in the 1993 federal election, defeating Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Garth Turner by 3,991 votes in Halton—Peel.
[5][6][7] He served as a backbench supporter of the Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin administrations.
Reed was a supporter of renewable energy throughout his political career, and was the keynote speaker at a 2002 meeting of the Canadian Solar Industries Association.