Editing Preston Manning (section)

=== 1997 federal election ===
On June 2, 1997, the next [[1997 Canadian federal election|federal general election]] was held. Support for the [[Bloc Québécois|Bloc]] declined in Quebec, the party winning 44 seats, down 10 from the previous election. This time Reform won 19.1 percent of the popular vote (2,513,070 votes) and 60 seats, including one in Ontario, compared with 18.8 percent of the popular vote for the Progressive Conservatives (2,446,705 votes) and 20 seats. The gains by Reform in seats were sufficient to make Reform the [[Official Opposition (Canada)|Official Opposition]] and hense Manning [[Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada)|Leader of the Official Opposition]] in the [[36th Canadian Parliament|36th Parliament]]. But vote splitting between Reform and the Progressive Conservative Party continued to hand scores of federal seats, especially in Ontario, to the federal Liberals, who again formed a majority government, a very slim one this time.