Manning, Ernest Charles

▪ 1997

      Canadian politician (b. Sept. 20, 1908, Carnduff, Sask.—d. Feb. 19, 1996, Calgary, Alta.), served (1943-68) as the dynamic and decisive premier of Alberta while concurrently enjoying a career as an evangelist on radio, where he was heard weekly on the North American broadcast of "Back to the Bible Hour." During his political career he was credited with guiding the province through the Great Depression and shaping it into a model of economic prosperity, in part owing to the discovery of a major oil field at Leduc in 1947 and his innovative rules concerning the proper management of petroleum reserves. As a young man he studied under the charismatic evangelist William Aberhart, the founder of the populist Social Credit political movement. After Aberhart's Social Credit Party captured 56 of 63 seats in the 1935 election, Aberhart became premier and Manning joined the Cabinet as provincial secretary. When Aberhart died in 1943, Manning was elected party leader and premier. Manning, who was reelected seven times, was also the father of Preston, later the leader of the Reform Party.

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