Reid wrote many books and essays on the history of British Columbia, but his special interest was the study of the works of Rudyard Kipling.
Another special field of interest was that coins of early British Columbia, concerning which he remains one of the main authorities.
Reid was born in Cornwallis Township, Kings County, Nova Scotia, in the community of Steam Mill Village on November 3, 1866, but ventured to British Columbia in 1885 to Victoria, British Columbia, in 1885 to write the provincial teacher's examination.
During this experience he met Frederic W. Howay, with whom he established a personal and professional relationship that lasted sixty years.
He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1936, and was also a Member of the American Historical Association, Washington.