Preston Manning Quotations

Do not ghettoize society by putting people into legal categories of gender, race, ethnicity, language, or other such characteristics.

There are more effective ways of tackling environmental problems including global warming, proliferation of plastics, urban sprawl, and the loss of biodiversity than by treaties, top-down regulations, and other approaches offered by big governments and their dependents.

When we classify an issue as a 'shield issue' it is usually because we feel that someone else occupies the high ground on that issue. We feel we can't win on that issue and so we adopt a defensive posture.

When the initial effort of political and business leaders to influence public opinion on an issue is to threaten rather than to engage and persuade, they further arouse public opposition rather than win support.

Remember the referendum on the Charlottetown constitutional accord? The more Canada's political and business elites threatened Canadians that the country would disappear into a black hole if the accord weren't passed, the more Canadians opposed it.

Canada is the only country founded on the relentless pursuit of the rodent.

I guess I'd like to get old and die, in that order.

I was dissatisfied with the status quo back in the 80's, particularly how the West was represented in federation. I wanted to try to change it.

My personal political convictions are rooted in the populist political traditions of western Canada.

The role of the federal government should be neutral toward culture just as it is toward religion.

What used to be considered conservative values... are increasingly becoming more mainstream values.

For many years I have advocated 'redesigning Parliament' in a variety of ways - elect the Senate, do away with the 'confidence convention,' permit freer voting, strengthen the role of back benchers and committees, do away with ineffectual 'take note' debates, restructure question period, and so on.

There is a whole school of Canadian academics, media personalities, and politicians whose definition of a Canadian is a North American who fears or dislikes the United States.

When political and business leaders tell the public - any public - 'We don't trust you to make the right decision' - they prejudice that electorate against the very proposals they want it to accept and undermine public confidence in themselves.

Where I think we're headed is a system of universal care, where everybody is covered ... with two tracks for delivery, and two tracks for payment. It's not a question of private versus public, but what mix of the two is appropriate.

The reduced support for the government is surely a warning that the government must heed. And the warning is that you cannot break your promises,

We need to apply the science of communication to the communication of science.

In retrospect, our decision to resuscitate would appear to have been a good one. We have gone from a mere 30 attendees per meeting to an average of 150 attendees. With each meeting, we are increasing our profile in the communities,

In this election, many Canadians are asking, 'What are you going to do about my high taxes, how are your proposals going to improve my job prospects, what fresh ideas do you offer to keep my country together?'

New Canada must be workable without Quebec, but it must be open and attractive enough to include a New Quebec.

As a result of listening to Aberhart, my father decided to leave the farm in 1927 to study at Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute, Aberhart's training school.

In many respects, my best friends were dogs.

My religious training told me that in times of personal uncertainty one should seek God's direction through personal prayer and study of the Christian scriptures.

My first official consulting job, therefore, was for a scrap metal dealer (he resented the term "junk dealer") in East Edmonton named Benny Sugarman.

During his long political career, my father was always active in communicating the Christian gospel from the evangelical perspective,...

The first lesson, for all Canadians, is that the closed door, top down approaches to constitution making do not provide the public input or debate necessary to achieve a constitutional consensus that will be supported by the people.

The trouble with "sacrifices as symbolic acts" is that the immediate impact on those for whom the sacrifice is made quickly fades, while the impact on those who actually make the sacrifice can go on and on.

Nothing disturbs me more than superficiality and mere sloganizing on matters of public policy, and the suspicion that what the speaker is saying represents the full extent of his knowledge on the subject.

There are hundreds of Canadian communities that have given more thought to hiring their rink manager than they have to electing their member of Parliament.

A revolutionary should neither look or act like one to get ahead in Canada.

In fall 1967, I was given leave of absence by the National Public Affairs Research Foundation to move to Redondo Beach, California, to work on a short-term research contract with TRW.

Besides my religious commitment, the greatest single factor that has enabled me to pursue my business and political objectives has been the security and freedom of my home.

An optimist in Canada is someone who think things could be worse

What's the difference between a politician and a catfish? One is a wide-mouthed, bottom-feeding, slime sucker - and the other is a fish.

The Halton Peel Canadian Club was launched in September of 2001,