Liberal Party candidate Will Greaves hopes to use his international relations expertise to represent Victorians federally.
"It’s pretty unusual to have foreign policy issues feature very heavily in a Canadian election,” he said. “I am quite fortunately an expert in a lot of the Canada-U.S. defence relations, climate change and Arctic issues that are actually at play.”
To seek election, the candidate recently stepped away from his associate professorship at the University of Victoria, where he researched climate change, security and Arctic politics.
Greaves' keen interest in government and diplomacy bloomed decades ago in Costa Rica, where his mother worked in the Canadian Foreign Service.
“She was a development officer, so she spent her career working for what was called ... then the Canadian International Development Agency, administering Canada's overseas aid programs,” said Greaves, who later lived in Guyana with his mother and sister.
After graduating from high school, Greaves moved to Quebec, where he began studying political science at Bishop’s University. Between semesters, he put his evolving knowledge to the test at a Canadian Embassy thousands of kilometres away.
“My mother and my younger sister went to Haiti on a posting, so I spent my summer holidays and university vacations with them ... and I worked there at the embassy,” said Greaves, who was tasked with processing immigration paperwork.
The candidate later moved to Alberta, where he earned his master’s degree in political science at the University of Calgary. He eventually completed his PhD at the University of Toronto before moving to Victoria in 2017.
The scholar has also led three research groups: the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network, the Canadian Defence and Security Network and the Network for Strategic Analysis.
“Given my expertise on certain issues that are very topical at the moment, I have something to offer in terms of Canada's response to this very challenging global moment that we find ourselves in,” he said, noting he is also in-tune with Victorians' local concerns, which include those related to downtown street disorder and housing affordability and availability.
Although he has thrown his hat in the political arena, Greaves has never possessed a life-long dream of becoming an MP – instead, recent changes in Canada's political landscape drove him toward public life.
"Like a lot of people over the last couple of years, I have been really uncomfortable with some of the developments happening in our politics with some of the extremes that, particularly during and after the pandemic, became increasingly mainstream within political discourse and within some political parties," he said. "I did decide that ... I had a responsibility to myself but also to the wider community and the wider society to try to do something."
Outside of work, Greaves enjoys spending time with his family – something he has had to juggle with his ongoing campaign.
“Life's pretty busy,” he said. “With a school-age child and two working parents, there's lots to do. It keeps us occupied.”
