[2] Born in Lombardy, Canada West, Willis was educated at Smiths Falls High School and the University of Toronto.
His victory was considered an upset, and can probably be credited to the increasingly strong presence of organized farmers in Manitoba.
Some believe Conservative delegates were influenced by the recent election of Ernest Drury's United Farmers in Ontario.
The Conservative Party had governed Manitoba from 1900 to 1915, but was sidelined by the emergence of farmer and labour radicalism in the late 1910s.
Willis sought election in Turtle Mountain, but lost to incumbent Liberal George McDonald by 14 votes.