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.

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.

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.

[7] 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.

[8] Manning and a colleague, Dr. Erick Schmidt, a PhD sociologist and Executive Secretary to the Alberta cabinet in the 1960s, became interested in the General Systems Theory of biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy and its possible application to governmental and business organizations.

On October 16, 1986, Manning convened a small meeting in Calgary of 5 people – himself, Dr. David Elton (a pollster and President of the Canada West Foundation), James Gray (a prominent Progressive Conservative and Calgary business man), and two oil sector lawyers, Bob Muir and Doug Hilland – to discuss the West's political options.

[11] The group could not agree on a specific course of action but decided there would be merit in holding a conference in the spring of 1987 to develop a Western Political Agenda and to sponsor a debate on various means of advancing it.

Knowing that any new party would need a Policy Chief, Manning had approached Harper, then a graduate student in economics at the University of Calgary, and invited him to make a major presentation at the Winnipeg Assembly.

The Founding Assembly concluded with the election of Diane Ablonczy, a Calgary lawyer, as Chair of the new party's governing Council and Manning as Leader – after the only other candidate, Stan Roberts, dropped out of the leadership contest citing voting irregularities.

[14] Stephen Harper joined Ms. Grey in Ottawa as her Policy Advisor and Executive Assistant, while Manning continued to travel the country building the party.

The first was a province wide election in Alberta to choose a candidate to be recommended to the Governor General by the federal government for appointment to the Canadian Senate.

Reform put forward Stan Waters, a prominent Calgary businessman, war hero, and former Lieutenant-General and Commander of the Canadian Armed Forces.

[17] The 1993 Liberal Red Book[18] containing its election platform scarcely mentioned deficit and debt reduction, but Reform had gained over 2.5 million votes campaigning heavily on the need to balance the federal budget.

Much of Manning's and Reform's energy in the 35th Parliament was therefore focused on pressuring the Chrétien government on this issue and in 1998 the federal budget was at last balanced for the first time in years.

During Reform's first term, several of its members and spokespersons made offensive and politically incorrect remarks which enabled its opponents to label it as extreme and undisciplined.

[23] The subsequent United Alternative initiative was aided by the departure of Jean Charest from the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservatives to pursue provincial politics in Quebec and by the support of provincial Progressive Conservative premiers, in particular, Mike Harris of Ontario, Gary Filmon of Manitoba, and Ralph Klein in Alberta.

On the urging of Manning and others, the Conference endorsed an action plan to create a new federal political party, its constitution, principles, and platform to be determined at a second United Alternative convention prior to June 30, 2000.

Besides carrying on his duties as Official Opposition Leader, Manning then went on an extensive, cross country campaign to convince Reformers to vote Yes.

In January 2000, the second United Alternative Conference was held, with Manning keeping a low profile so as not to convey the impression that the exercise was really just a Reform "take over" of the federal Progressive Conservatives.

This convention, after vigorous debate, approved the constitutional framework and platform for a new party, to be named the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance.

While this support level for Manning's leadership was substantial, it was also evident that he was slowly using up his personal political capital in pushing the realignment agenda.

Manning had resigned his position as Leader of the Opposition to combat the charge that it gave him an unfair advantage over other contestants for the Alliance leadership.

Because it was equally important that the leadership contest involve a prominent Progressive Conservative from Ontario, so that the Alliance did not appear to be totally western dominated, both Manning and Day also welcomed Tom Long's entry.

After considerable internal dissension, Day resigned as Canadian Alliance leader to be replaced by Stephen Harper who had re-entered federal politics after remaining aloof during the party's formation.

[26] In the January 2006 federal election it won 124 seats compared to 103 for the Liberals and formed its first minority government with Harper as Prime Minister.

In that election, the Liberals won the fewest federal seats in their history, and were reduced to third party status, while the NDP made unprecedented gains to become the Official Opposition.

[35] Prior to the creation of the Manning Centre, there "wasn't a networking opportunity for what Preston always called the 'conservative movement,' as opposed to political parties.

[35] In July 2016, Manning resigned from his executive functions with the Foundation and Centre, although he continues to support and pursue its objectives in his role as Founder.

In the run up to the 2019 Canadian federal election, the Manning Centre provided a "total of $312,450 to a network of related third-party advertising groups" operating on Facebook and Instagram.

He also "continued his contribution to public policy dialogue through his involvement with numerous research and consulting organizations", such as the Fraser Institute, and the Canada West Foundation.