Ernest Preston Manning is the Founder of the Manning Centre for Building Democracy. He has served as a Senior Fellow of the Fraser Institute, a Senior Fellow of the Canada West Foundation, a Distinguished Visitor in Canadian Public Policy at the University of Calgary, and as the Dean's Distinguished Visitor in Political Science and Canadian Studies at the University of Toronto. He has received honorary degrees from seven Canadian universities.From 1987 to 2002, Mr. Manning was an active participant in Canadian federal politics and was one of the principal founders of the Reform Party of Canada in 1987 and the Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance (Canadian Alliance) in 2000. He served as Leader of the Reform Party from 1987 to 2000, as Leader of the Opposition in Parliament from 1997 to 2000, and as his party's critic for Science and Technology.He is the author of two Canadian bestsellers, The New Canada (Macmillan, 1992), and Think Big: My Adventures in Life and Democracy (McClelland & Stewart, 2002). He is a frequent speaker at conferences and conventions, as well as being a radio and television commentator. Besides commenting on political and economic themes, he speaks and writes extensively on the relation of faith to politics, science, business, and conflict resolution.Preston Manning was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2007, inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2012, and sworn in as a Privy Councillor in 2013.He and his wife Sandra have been married for 50 years. They have five children and eleven grandchildren and reside in Calgary, Alberta,