Preston Manning

Preston Manning 1942-, Canadian political leader. Although he is the son of Ernest C. Manning, a leader of the Social Credit party who was premier of Alberta for 25 years, Preston Manning headed a management consulting firm for many years before he entered Canadian national politics. In 1987 he was one of the founders of the Reform party, a largely western, conservative, and strongly federalist party that arose in part in opposition to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney 's attempt to negotiate a special status for Quebec within Canada. Elected to Parliament in 1993, he became opposition leader after the 1997 balloting, when the Reform party won 60 seats. After the party reconstituted itself as the Canadian Alliance in 2000, he was defeated for leadership of the party by Stockwell Day ; he retired from politics in 2002. Manning wrote The New Canada (1992).

Manning, Preston (b. 10 June 1942). Canadian politician Born at Edmonton (Alberta), the son of the former leader of the Social Credit Party, Ernest C. Manning, he graduated from the University of Alberta and became a management consultant. In 1987 he was chosen to lead the Reform Party at its founding congress. He organized a brilliant election campaign in 1993, when he and 51 other party members were elected to the House of Commons. In 1997, 60 members were elected, and he became the official leader of the opposition. He worked hard to unite the conservative parties into a single movement that could prove an effective challenge to the Liberal Party, and supported the creation of the Canadian Alliance. His bid for the party leadership was unsuccessful, however, and in 2002 he resigned his seat and retired from politics.