"I am very pleased to welcome Mr. Manning to the Council and look forward to his contribution to the Council's Board of Governors," said Minister Prentice. "There is no doubt that his diverse knowledge and extensive involvement in strengthening relations with scientific communities will be of great value to the Council."

Mr. Manning served as a Member of the Canadian Parliament from 1993 to 2001. He served as Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2000 and was also his party's critic for Science and Technology.

In 2007, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. He has served as a Senior Fellow of the Canada West Foundation and as a Distinguished Visitor at the University of Calgary and the University of Toronto.

He is currently a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors as an Institute-Certified Director. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Fraser Institute and President and CEO of the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, a national not-for-profit organization designed to achieve a more democratic society in Canada.

The Council is a source of expert knowledge for all Canadians on the scientific aspects of important domestic and international issues. The Council's mandate is to provide credible and expert assessments of the science underlying important public-policy issues and matters of interest to Canadians, as well as to serve as a recognized, unified voice for Canada on behalf of the sciences, on the national and international scenes.