Preston Manning

Ernest Preston Manning PC CC AOE (born June 10, 1942) is a retired Canadian politician. He was the founder and the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance in 2000 which in turn merged with the Progressive Conservative Party to form today's Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. Manning represented the federal constituency of Calgary Southwest in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 until his retirement in 2002. He served as leader of the Official Opposition from 1997 to 2000.

Manning is the son of former Social Credit Premier of Alberta Ernest Manning. Earning a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1964, Manning rose to prominence in 1987, when he and an alliance of associates created the Reform Party, an anti-establishment right-wing populist party that won its first seat in 1989 and had a regionalist, Western Canadian base. Shortly after that, the party rapidly gained momentum in the 1993 Canadian federal election, where it won 52 seats. In the 1997 federal election, support increased as the party's number of seats rose to 60 and became the Official Opposition, although Manning struggled to win ridings in Central and Atlantic Canada in order to become prime minister. In 2000, the Reform Party was succeeded by the Canadian Alliance. Manning lost the leadership election to Stockwell Day but continued to serve in the federal parliament until his retirement in January 2002.

Manning remains active in Conservative Party politics and campaigns. Manning is also seen as the founder of the green conservative movement in Canada. Upon his retirement, he has founded the Manning Foundation for Democratic Education and the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, not-for-profit organizations dedicated to strengthening Canadian democracy in accordance with conservative principles.

Manning was born in Edmonton, Alberta. He is the son of Muriel Aileen (née Preston) and Ernest Manning, Social Credit Party Premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 and a Canadian Senator from 1970 to 1983. Preston's grandparents were English immigrants.

Manning grew up in the Garneau district of Edmonton, but moved at age twelve with his parents to the family dairy farm east of Edmonton from which he attended a rural school – Horse Hill High School. He enrolled in the honours physics program at the University of Alberta in 1960, but switched after three years to economics and graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics. He sought election to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1965 federal election as a candidate of the federal Social Credit Party in Edmonton East, but was defeated.

When the Prairies began to prosper because of its status as an international wheat basket and the discovery of oil, the Social Credit Party changed course from its 1930s share-the-wealth roots to embrace rugged individualism and free enterprise. Upon graduation from university in 1966, Manning briefly worked as a salaried researcher for the National Public Affairs Research Foundation—a small, independent think tank led by David R. Wilson, who had been formerly with the Social Credit as executive director. The New York Times described the focus of the Foundation as fighting "creeping socialism" in Canada. This research enabled Manning to work on quasi political projects of interest to himself and his father. One such project included the preparation of a proposal for re-aligning Alberta provincial politics through a proposed merger of the governing Social Credit Party with the up-and-coming Progressive Conservative Party led by Peter Lougheed. The proposal was ultimately rejected by the leadership of both parties but the statement of conservative principles it contained resurfaced time and time again in Manning's subsequent political ventures – in the statement of principles contained in a book researched by him for Ernest Manning entitled in Political Realignment: A Challenge for Thoughtful Canadians and in the statements of principles of the Reform Party of Canada, the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, and the Conservative Party of Canada.

In 1967, Manning married Sandra (née Beavis). Together they have five children.

Preston Manning has described himself as "a great fan and imperfect follower of Jesus of Nazareth" and has studied and lectured extensively on managing the interface between faith and politics.