In 1993, the neophyte Reform Party stunned the nation, winning 52 seats in the House of Commons, narrowly missing Official Opposition status. Having collected just 2% of the popular vote in the 1988 federal election, it garnered an astonishing 19% five years later.

In Waiting for the Wave, Tom Flanagan studies the rapid rise of the Reform Party and presents some fascinating insights into the party and its leaders. He corrects two popular misconceptions about Preston Manning: that his political philosophy is directly derived from his religious convictions, and that he is an extreme right-wing conservative. Flanagan examines Manning's strategy of populism (listening to "the common sense of the common people") and illustrates how he used this strategy to "catch waves" of popular discontent to boost support for his party. Having held various positions within the party, Flanagan is able to portray its inner workings, revealing some of the personal ideologies of party members and showing how these conflicted with Manning's strategy of populism.

Flanagan updates the story of Reform through the creation of the Canadian Alliance and the merger with the Progressive Conservatives to form the Conservative Party of Canada. Led by Stephen Harper, who was chief policy officer for the Reform Party in its early years, the Conservative Party won the 2006 federal election, thus fulfilling Preston Manning's dream of creating a new governing party with greater Western influence.