Ernest Preston Manning PC CC AOE (born June 10, 1942) is a Canadian retired 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 2000, which in turn merged with the Progressive Conservative Party to form the Conservative Party of Canada. in 2003. Manning represented the federal constituency of Calgary Southwest in the House of Commons from 1993 until his retirement in 2002. He served as leader of the Official Opposition from 1997 to 2000.