Over the past century it has become the conventional wisdom in Canada that faith should be a private, not a public, matter and that the separation of church and state meant that there was no legitimate place for faith perspectives in the public square. Mr. Manning argues that in practice it is neither possible nor desirable to keep faith and politics in separate water-tight compartments. In a country like Canada, with its deep religious traditions, it is not possible to discuss current public perceptions of morality and ethics while denying the religious dimension.
Preston Manning
Former Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Canada, and MPP from 1993-2001, Preston Manning was the founder of the Reform Party of Canada and the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance. He has become a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute and the Canada West Foundation and is currently a Distinguished Visitor and lecturer at the University of Calgary and the University of Toronto. He is the author of Think Big (McClelland and Stewart, 2002).