Before running for office himself, Maves worked as a legislative assistant to federal MP Ken Atkinson, who represented St. Catharines from 1988 to 1993. He also worked as a Planning Secretariat for Alberta Education.
In the provincial election of 1999, Maves was re-elected by about 1,500 votes over Liberal candidate Selina Volpatti. He held other parliamentary assistant positions in the parliament which followed, but was not appointed to cabinet. In 2002, he supported Jim Flaherty's unsuccessful bid to replace Mike Harris as party leader. In early 2003, he attended a local "Rally For America", organized in support of the Iraq War.