LIKE him or hate him, Preston Manning has been the star of this election campaign. He has catapulted his Reform Party from the western prairies into a transforming force in Canadian politics.
His prize tonight will probably be leadership of the largest opposition party, a role which will set him on a collision course with the Quebec separatists, for whose demands he has no tolerance. He refuses to acknowledge that Quebec with its Francophone majority is a "distinct society" and instead spells out coldly what separation from Canada will mean for Quebeckers in lost privileges.
But whether elevation to leader of the opposition will groom Mr Manning for eventual leadership of Canada or expose a less attractive side of his deeply conservative political philosophy remains to be seen. Another scenario could be that a further crushing defeat for the Progressive Conservatives under Mr Jean Charest would lead to the party's merger into its Reform rival, and the emergence of a national conservative party stretching from Pacific to Atlantic but under a leader other than Mr Manning or Mr Charest.
Reform (rather like the Progressive Democrats in Ireland) suddenly appeared on the political scene in 1985-1986, as Mr Manning recruited dissatisfied Tories and Liberals. Its big breakthrough came in the 1993 election when the party went from one to 52 seats - but all from the western provinces. The party campaigns for smaller government, lower taxes, a binding referendum on bringing back the death penalty and making provinces, not central government, responsible for welfare.
Mr Manning, with his Alberta origins and strong evangelical Christian beliefs, is distrusted by some media commentators in Ottawa and Toronto, who are fascinated by the man while deriding his message.
Here is how the influential Toronto Globe columnist Jeffrey Simpson began his article on the eve of the election. "Nobody will ever accuse Reform leader, Preston Manning, of not wanting to succeed in national politics. He's had his hair tinted, his eyes lasered, his wardrobe overhauled, his teeth adjusted, his voice lowered, all to stage manage his appeal."
Mr Simpson goes on to scrutinise "controversial" aspects of the Reform programme which he claims are being ignored by the other parties and most of the media. These concern savings in Canada's once famous but now too costly "cradle to grave" health and welfare system.
Yet wherever he goes, Manning attracts enthusiastic audiences who warm to his plain speaking, his attacks on longer established political parties and his theatrics. His latest gimmick is to unveil a replica desk of the kind used by MPs in Ottawa out of which he pulls an oxygen mask, a flask of whiskey and a bottle of Geritol (a tonic used by the elderly).
He laughs with his audience as he does his tricks but the message gets across. It's time to send MPs to Ottawa who will represent voters' interests and not become part of a cosy, dozy club.
Always accompanied by his attractive wife, Sandra, who provides lively introductions for him, Manning softens his often technocratic addresses by emphasising the need for "love" between Canadians. He tells how Sandra from time to time chides him for not telling her how he loves her.
It can sound corny in cold print but it went down well with the 400 middle class men and women crowded into the Empire Club's lunch meeting in the Royal York Hotel in Ottawa last week.
The injection of emotion into the speeches of the earnest 55 year old economic consultant did not come naturally. It goes against his instincts, he admits: "For me it's a stretch to do that." But the advice from his wife and media handlers to loosen up a bit has paid off.
The tabloid Sun has written admiringly of how "the tin man has finally found his heart" and how "Preston gets his groove".
His political opponents ... see it differently. The Prime Minister, Mr Jean Chretien, accuses Manning of tapping into a "darker side" of Canadian populism.
The Conservative leader, Mr Jean Charest, calls Manning a "bigot" for TV ads implying that politicians born in Quebec like Charest and Chretien are unfit to rule the country.
Mr Manning has had problems with some members of his party who are antigay and have made racist remarks but overall he seems to have purged Reform of its once lunatic fringe.
Politics are in his blood from his father, Ernest Manning. He was premier of Alberta for 25 years until 1968 as leader of the Social Credit Party whose ideas for social and monetary reform had an appeal in that era. Ernest Manning also preached his evangelical Christianity through a radio programme called National Bible Hour, which was widely listened to throughout Canada and for which young Preston broadcast youth sermons.
Preston Manning's Reform Party reflects both these influences - but geared to the 1990s. He has tapped into a widespread impatience with the traditional parties and their inability to handle the Quebec "national unity" issue. Mr Manning gets credit for honesty in his approach to Quebec; but of course that virtue comes easier from Opposition benches.