About

Manning Foundation for Democratic Education

Founded in 2007 by Preston Manning the Manning Foundation for Democratic Education’s mission is to advance democracy through education and communications – in particular, by delivering courses and communications that teach students of all ages about the values, ethics, principles, opportunities and tools of participatory democracy. Troy Lanigan has served as the organization president since 2019.

The Foundation’s primary activity is conducting two Best Practices Forums each year that bring together top experts and practitioners – domestic and international – who share current ideas and practices conducive to effective participation in politics, government, media and civil society organizations. The Forums aim to foster an environment that maximizes exchanges, learning and relationship building.

Troy Lanigan has served as the organization’s president since 2019.

Nataliya Lawrence serves as Manager, Operations and Events and Tracy Plourde serves as Manager, Accounting and Finance.

About Our Founder Preston Manning PC CC AOE

Preston Manning is the founder and the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance which in turn merged with the federal Progressive Conservative Party to form today’s Conservative Party of Canada. Mr. Manning represented the federal constituency of Calgary Southwest in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 until 2002 and served as Leader of the Official Opposition from 1997 to 2000.

Mr. Manning has made major contributions to the intellectual and operational underpinnings of democracy and conservatism in Canada primarily through:

Speeches in the House of Commons (as recorded in Hansard) and addresses to numerous public meetings and conferences across Canada;

Opinion pieces primarily published by The Globe and Mail and interviews with various other print and electronic media;

Serving as a Fellow of the Canada West Foundation, the Fraser Institute, the Marketplace Institute of Regent College and as a Distinguished Visitor at the University of Toronto and the University of Calgary;

Participation in the conduct and publication of various studies and reports on public policy issues such as a six volume study, co-authored with former Ontario Premier Mike Harris, entitled Vision for a Canada Strong and Free, and more recently (2020), the Report of the Fair Deal Panel commissioned by the Alberta government; and

The authoring and publication of four major books: The New Canada (1990); Think Big: My Adventures in Life and Politics (2003); Faith, Leadership, and Public Life (2017); and Do Something: 365 Ways You Can Strengthen Canada (2020).

Mr. Manning is the recipient of honorary degrees from the University of Toronto, York University, McMaster Divinity School, Tyndale University, the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, the University of British Columbia and Trinity Western University. He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2007, made a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2012 and appointed to the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada in 2013.

Upon his retirement from elected office Mr. Manning founded two not-for-profit organizations: The Manning Foundation for Democratic Education and the Manning Centre for Building Democracy. The purpose of these organizations was to strengthen democracy and the conservative movement in Canada by supporting and facilitating:

The generation of democratic and conservative intellectual capital through the support of think tanks and idea generators;

The development of human resources for democratic political institutions and processes through education and training; and

Networking and relationship building among the various components of the conservative movement through communications and conferencing, including organization of the Manning Networking Conference held each year in Ottawa.

In July 2016, Mr. Manning resigned from his executive functions with the Foundation and Centre (the Centre rebranded in 2020 the Canada Strong and Free Network), and in June 2020 fully retired from the organizations although he continues to contribute to advancing and enriching democratic engagement in Canada though his media appearances, speaking engagements, writing, and contributions to various public policy development initiatives.

No description of the public life and work of Mr. Manning would be complete without full acknowledgment of the enormously supportive and inspirational role played, usually behind the scene, by his wife Sandra, their five grown children, and twelve grandchildren. Preston and Sandra continue to divide their time between Calgary, Vancouver, and a family ranching operation in central Saskatchewan.