The Right Honourable  Stephen Joseph Harper  PC MP MA
22nd Prime Minister of Canada
Incumbent
Assumed office  February 6, 2006
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Paul Martin
Member of Parliament for Calgary West
In office 1993 – 1997
Preceded by	James Hawkes
Succeeded by	Rob Anders
Member of Parliament for Calgary Southwest
Incumbent
Assumed office  June 28, 2002
Preceded by	Preston Manning
Born	April 30, 1959 (1959-04-30) (age 49) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Conservative (2003-present)
Other political affiliations	Young Liberals (c. Stephen Alan "Steve" Harper (born March 14, 1975 in Easington, County Durham) is an English footballer. The Right Honourable (abbreviated as The Rt Hon) is an Honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain The Queen's Privy Council for Canada (QPC (Conseil privé de la Reine pour le Canada (CPR sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or the Privy Council This is a list of members of the Canadian House of Commons in the 39th Parliament of Canada. A Master of Arts ( Latin: Magister Artium) is a Postgraduate academic Master's degree awarded by universities in a large The Prime Minister of Canada ( French: Premier ministre du Canada) is the primary Minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II Paul Edgar Philippe Martin. PC, MP (also known as Paul Martin Jr Calgary West is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons The Canadian federal election of 1993 (officially the 35th general election) was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Frederick James "Jim" Hawkes, MSc, PhD (born June 21 1934 is a former Canadian Politician. Robert J "Rob" Anders (born April 1, 1972, in Winnipeg Manitoba) is a Canadian Politician. Calgary Southwest is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988 Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Ernest Preston Manning, CC (born June 10, 1942, in Edmonton Alberta) is a Right-wing populist Canadian politician Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative The Liberal Party of Canada ( Parti libéral du Canada) colloquially known as the Grits (originally " Clear Grits " is a major Canadian political 1974-early 1980s) Progressive Conservative (1985-1986) Reform (1987-1997) Canadian Alliance (2002-2003)
Spouse	Laureen Harper
Children	Benjamin and Rachel
Residence	24 Sussex Drive
Alma mater	University of Calgary
Religion	Christian and Missionary Alliance

Stephen Joseph Harper PC MP (born April 30, 1959) is the twenty-second and current Prime Minister of Canada, and leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ( PC) ( Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) ( 1867 – 2003) was a Canadian The Reform Party of Canada ( Parti réformiste du Canada) was a Canadian federal Political party that existed from 1987 to 2000 The Canadian Alliance (in French Alliance Canadienne) formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (or in French Alliance réformiste-conservateur Laureen Teskey Harper (born 1963 is the wife of Stephen Harper, who is leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Prime Minister of Canada since 24 Sussex Drive (also called Gorffwysfa) is the Official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada. Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother" It was used in Ancient Rome as a title for the mother Goddess, and in Medieval The University of Calgary is a research-intensive Public university in Calgary Alberta, Canada. The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA is an Evangelical Protestant denomination within Christianity. The Queen's Privy Council for Canada (QPC (Conseil privé de la Reine pour le Canada (CPR sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or the Privy Council This is a list of members of the Canadian House of Commons in the 39th Parliament of Canada. Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Prime Minister of Canada ( French: Premier ministre du Canada) is the primary Minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative Harper became Prime Minister after his party won a minority government in the January 2006 federal election. A minority government or a minority cabinet is a Cabinet of a Parliamentary system formed when the governing Political party or The 2006 Canadian federal election (more formally the 39th General Election) was held on January 23 2006 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the He is the first ever Prime Minister from his current political party, and the first since 1993 from any "Conservative" party, following twelve years of government by the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party of Canada ( Parti libéral du Canada) colloquially known as the Grits (originally " Clear Grits " is a major Canadian political

Harper has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Calgary Southwest in Alberta since 2002. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. An electoral district (also known as a Constituency or a riding in the Canadian English political Jargon) is a geographically-based Calgary Southwest is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988 Alberta (ælˈbɝtə is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1 1905 Earlier, from 1993 to 1997, he was the MP for Calgary West. Calgary West is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons He was one of the founding members of the Reform Party, but ended his first stint as an MP to join, and shortly thereafter head, the National Citizens Coalition. The Reform Party of Canada ( Parti réformiste du Canada) was a Canadian federal Political party that existed from 1987 to 2000 The National Citizens Coalition is a Canadian Libertarian - conservative lobby group In 2002, he succeeded Stockwell Day as leader of the Canadian Alliance (the successor to the Reform Party) and returned to Parliament as Leader of the Opposition. Stockwell Burt Day Jr, PC, MP (born August 16, 1950 in Barrie Ontario) is a Canadian Politician and The Canadian Alliance (in French Alliance Canadienne) formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (or in French Alliance réformiste-conservateur In 2003, he reached an agreement with Progressive Conservative leader Peter MacKay for the merger of their two parties to form the Conservative Party of Canada. The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ( PC) ( Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) ( 1867 – 2003) was a Canadian Peter Gordon MacKay, PC, QC, MP (born September 27, 1965) serves as the Member of Parliament (MP for Central Nova He was elected as the party's first non-interim leader in March 2004.

Contents 1 Background 1.1 Personal life and sport 2 Political beginnings 3 Reform MP 4 Out of Parliament 4.1 1997-2000 4.2 2000-2001 5 Canadian Alliance leadership 6 Conservative Party of Canada leadership 6.1 2004 federal election 6.2 Harper as Conservative leader and Leader of the Opposition 6.3 2006 federal election 7 Prime Minister of Canada 7.1 Domestic 7.2 Foreign 7.2.1 Relations with leaders of the United States 8 Supreme Court appointments 9 Honours 10 Electoral record 11 See also 12 External links 13 Footnotes

Background

Stephen Harper was born in Toronto, the first of three sons of Margaret Johnston and Joseph Harper, an accountant at Imperial Oil. Imperial Oil Limited ( French: Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Limitée) () is Canada 's largest Petroleum company ^[1] He attended Northlea Public School, while living at 332 Bessborough Avenue in Leaside. Leaside is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area takes its name from William Lea and the Lea family who settled there in the Later, while living at 57 Princess Anne Crescent, he attended John G. Althouse Middle School and Richview Collegiate Institute, both in Central Etobicoke. John G Althouse Middle School (JGA is a Middle school located in Toronto, Ontario, near the intersection of Lloyd Manor Drive and Princess Margaret Boulevard Richview Collegiate Institute is a secondary school in Etobicoke, a suburb in the west end of Toronto Ontario. He graduated in 1978, at the top of his class with a 95. 7% average, and was a member of Richview Collegiate's team on Reach for the Top, a television quiz show for Canadian high school students. Reach for the Top is a Canadian Game show in which teams of High school students participate in local provincial and eventually national ^[2] Harper then enrolled at the University of Toronto but after two months he dropped out, then moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where he found work at Imperial Oil, in the mail room. This article is about the University of Toronto's St George Campus Edmonton (ˈɛdmɨntɨn is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. Imperial Oil Limited ( French: Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Limitée) () is Canada 's largest Petroleum company ^[3] Later, he would advance to work on the company's computer systems. He took up post-secondary studies again at the University of Calgary, where he completed a Bachelor's degree in economics. The University of Calgary is a research-intensive Public university in Calgary Alberta, Canada. A bachelor's degree is usually an Undergraduate Academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three four or in some cases and Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. He later returned there to earn a Master's degree in economics, completed in 1993. Harper has kept strong links to the University of Calgary, and often guest-lectured there. He is the first prime minister since Lester B. Pearson not to have attended law school. A law school (also known as a school of law or college of law) is an institution specializing in Legal education.

Harper married Laureen Teskey in 1993. Laureen Teskey Harper (born 1963 is the wife of Stephen Harper, who is leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Prime Minister of Canada since They have two children: Benjamin, born in 1996, and Rachel, born in 1999. He is the third Prime Minister, after Pierre Trudeau and John Turner, to send their children to Rockcliffe Park Public School, in Ottawa. John Napier Wyndham Turner PC CC QC (born June 7, 1929) is a retired Canadian Lawyer and Politician Rockcliffe Park Public School (RPPS is a public elementary school in the Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Ottawa (ˈɒtəwə or sometimes /ˈɒtəwɑː/ is the Capital of Canada and the country's fourth largest municipality. Stephen Harper occasionally^[4] attends church at the East Gate Alliance Church in Ottawa,^[5] a member of the evangelical Christian and Missionary Alliance. Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA is an Evangelical Protestant denomination within Christianity.

Personal life and sport

Harper has several hobbies and has participated in many artistic endeavours. He is an avid fan of ice hockey and of the Calgary Flames, although on a October 4, 2006 Toronto Maple Leafs game, cameras had caught him raising his arms after a Toronto goal which raised questions by hockey fans. Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey, is a team Sport played on Ice. The Calgary Flames are a Professional Ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. "Leafs" and "Maple Leafs" redirect here For the former American Hockey League team see St His son Ben was wearing a Maple Leaf jersey at the game. ^[6]

Stephen Harper has ventured into the arena of sports broadcasting. During the TSN broadcast of the Canada-Russia final of the World Junior Hockey Championships, Stephen Harper appeared in an interview and expressed several views on the state of hockey today. The Sports Network (commonly known as TSN) is a Canadian English language Cable television Specialty channel and is Canada's leading The International Ice Hockey Federation World Under 20 Championship (colloquially known as the World Junior Hockey Championship WJHC) is an annual event organized by the Among his comments was his preference for an overtime period in lieu of a shoot-out. ^[7][8]

Harper taped a cameo appearance in an episode of the television show Corner Gas which was aired in spring 2007. A cameo role or cameo appearance (often shortened to just cameo) is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the Performing arts, such as Corner Gas is a Canadian Television sitcom created by Brent Butt and airing on CTV and in the United States on WGN ^[9] Harper reportedly owns a large vinyl record collection and is an avid fan of The Beatles and AC/DC. A gramophone The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 AC/DC are an Australian Hard rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. ^[10]

Political beginnings

Harper became involved in politics as a member of his high school's Young Liberals Club. The Young Liberals of Canada (YLC is the national youth wing of the Liberal Party of Canada He later changed his political allegiance because of the Trudeau Liberal government's National Energy Program (NEP), which he thought was harmful to Alberta's energy industry. The Liberal Party of Canada ( Parti libéral du Canada) colloquially known as the Grits (originally " Clear Grits " is a major Canadian political The National Energy Program ( NEP) was an energy policy of the Government of Canada. Alberta (ælˈbɝtə is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1 1905 The energy industry is a generic term for all of the industries involved the production and sale of Energy, including Fuel extraction manufacturing He became chief aide to Progressive Conservative MP Jim Hawkes in 1985, but later became disillusioned with both the party and the government of Brian Mulroney. The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ( PC) ( Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) ( 1867 – 2003) was a Canadian Frederick James "Jim" Hawkes, MSc, PhD (born June 21 1934 is a former Canadian Politician. Martin Brian Mulroney PC CC GOQ (predominantly known as Brian Mulroney) (born March 20, 1939) was the eighteenth Harper was especially critical of the Mulroney government's fiscal policy, and its inability to fully revoke the NEP until 1986. Fiscal policy, taking the scope of Budgetary policy, refers to government policy that attempts to influence the direction of the economy through changes in government taxes He left the PC Party that same year.

He was then recommended by Western economist Bob Mansell to Preston Manning, the founder and leader of the Reform Party of Canada. Ernest Preston Manning, CC (born June 10, 1942, in Edmonton Alberta) is a Right-wing populist Canadian politician The Reform Party of Canada ( Parti réformiste du Canada) was a Canadian federal Political party that existed from 1987 to 2000 Harper impressed Manning, who invited him to participate in the party. Harper gave an important speech at Reform's 1987 founding convention in Winnipeg. Winnipeg (ˈwɪnɨpɛg is the capital and largest city in the Canadian province of Manitoba, and 7th largest municipality in Canada with a population He became the Reform Party's Chief Policy Officer, and he played a major role in drafting the 1988 election platform. He is credited with creating Reform's campaign slogan, "The West wants in!"

Harper ran for the Canadian House of Commons in the 1988 federal election, appearing on the ballot as Steve Harper in Calgary West. The House of Commons (Chambre des communes is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament Calgary West is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons He lost by a wide margin to Hawkes, his former employer. The Reform Party did not win any seats in this election, although party candidate Deborah Grey was elected as the party's first MP in a by-election shortly thereafter. Deborah Cleland Grey, OC, sometimes called Deb Grey (born July 1, 1952) is a prominent former Canadian Member of Parliament A by-election or bye-election (called special election in the United States) is an Election held to fill a political office that has become vacant Harper became Grey's executive assistant, and was her chief adviser and speechwriter until 1993. ^[11] He remained prominent in the Reform Party's national organization in his role as policy chief, encouraging the party to expand beyond its Western base and arguing that strictly regional parties were at risk of being taken over by radical elements. ^[12] He delivered a speech at the Reform Party's 1991 national convention, in which he condemned extremist views. ^[13]

Harper's relationship with Manning became strained in 1992, due to conflicting strategies over the Charlottetown Accord. The Charlottetown Accord was a package of constitutional amendments proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. Harper opposed the Accord on principle for ideological reasons, while Manning was initially more open to compromise. Harper also criticized Manning's decision to hire Rick Anderson as an adviser, believing that Anderson was not sufficiently committed to the Reform Party's principles. If you are looking for the former Major League Baseball player see Rick Anderson (baseball. ^[14] He resigned as policy chief in October 1992.

Harper stood for office again in the 1993 federal election, and defeated Jim Hawkes amid a significant Reform breakthrough in Western Canada. The Canadian federal election of 1993 (officially the 35th general election) was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons His campaign likely benefited from a $50,000 print and television campaign organized by the National Citizens Coalition against Hawkes, although the NCC did not endorse Harper directly. The National Citizens Coalition is a Canadian Libertarian - conservative lobby group ^[15]

Reform MP

Harper emerged a prominent member of the Reform Party caucus, and earned respect even from political opponents for his intellect and ideological commitment. Author Mordecai Richler once described him as the "one MP of substance" in the party. Mordecai Richler ( January 27, 1931 &ndash July 3, 2001) was a Canadian author Academy Award -nominated screenwriter and ^[16]

Harper was active on constitutional issues during his first term in parliament, and played a prominent role in drafting the Reform Party's strategy for the 1995 Quebec referendum. A constitution is a system for government often Codified as a written document that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second Referendum to ask voters in the Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should A long-standing opponent of centralized federalism, he stood with Preston Manning in Montreal to introduce a twenty-point plan to "decentralize and modernize" Canada in the event of a "no" victory. Canadian federalism is one of the three pillars of the constitutional order along with Responsible government and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec ^[17] Harper later argued that the "no" side's narrow plurality was a worst-case scenario, in that no-one had won a mandate for change. ^[18]

Although not associated with the Reform Party's radical wing, Harper expressed socially conservative views on some issues. Social conservatism is a political or moral ideology that affirms the government's role in encouraging or enforcing traditional values or behaviors in the belief that these are what In 1994, he opposed plans by federal Justice Minister Allan Rock to introduce spousal benefits for same-sex couples. The Minister of Justice (Ministre de la Justice is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Department of Justice This article is about the Canadian statesman For the similarly-named places in Massachusetts, see Allen Rock. Citing the recent failure of a similar initiative in Ontario, he was quoted as saying, "What I hope they learn is not to get into it. Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec There are more important social and economic issues, not to mention the unity question". ^[19] Harper also spoke against the possibility of the Canadian Human Rights Commission or the Supreme Court changing federal policy in these and other matters. The Canadian Human Rights Commission is a quasi-judicial body that was established in 1977 by the government The Supreme Court of Canada ( French: Cour suprême du Canada) is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian ^[20]

At the Reform Party's 1994 policy convention, Harper was part of a small minority of delegates who voted against restricting the definition of marriage to "the union of one man and one woman". ^[21] He actually opposed both same-sex marriage and mandated benefits for same-sex couples, but argued that political parties should refrain from taking official positions on these and other issues of conscience. On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the approval of the Civil Marriage Act. ^[22]

Harper was the only Reform MP to vote for a bill establishing the Canadian gun registry at second reading stage in 1995, although he voted against it at third reading. The Canadian gun registry is a government-run registry of all legally-owned Guns in Canada. He made his initial decision after concluding that a majority of his constituents supported the measure, but changed his mind after deciding there was substantial opposition. ^[23] It was reported in April 1995 that some Progressive Conservatives opposed to Jean Charest's leadership wanted to remove both Charest and Manning, and unite the Reform and Progressive Conservative parties under Harper's leadership. John James Charest PC MNA (known as Jean Charest) ʒɑ̃ ʃɑʀe (born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian ^[24]

Despite his prominent position in the party, Harper's relationship with the Reform Party leadership was frequently strained. In early 1994, he criticized a party decision to establish a personal expense account for Preston Manning at a time when other Reform MPs had been asked to forego parliamentary perquisites. Employee benefits and (especially in British English) benefits in kind (also called fringe benefits, perquisites, perqs or ^[25] His criticism proved divisive in the party, and he was formally rebuked by the Reform executive council despite winning support from some MPs. His relationship with Manning grew increasingly fractious in the mid-1990s, and he pointedly declined to express any opinion on Manning's leadership during a 1996 interview. ^[26] This friction was indicative of a fundamental divide between the two men: Harper was strongly committed to conservative principles and opposed Manning's inclinations toward populism, which he saw as leading to compromise on core ideological matters. Populism is a discourse which supports "the people" versus "the Elites " Populism may involve either a political philosophy urging social and political ^[27]

These tensions culminated in late 1996 when Harper announced that he would not be a candidate in the next federal election. The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of He resigned his parliamentary seat on January 14, 1997, the same day that he was appointed as a vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition (NCC), a conservative think-tank and advocacy group. Events 1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar ^[28] He was promoted to NCC president later in the year.

In April 1997, Harper suggested that the Reform Party was drifting toward social conservatism and ignoring the principles of economic conservatism. ^[29] The Liberal Party lost seats but managed to retain a narrow majority government in the 1997 federal election, while Reform made only modest gains. The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of

Out of Parliament

1997-2000

Soon after leaving parliament, Harper and Tom Flanagan co-authored an opinion piece entitled "Our Benign Dictatorship", which argued that the Liberal Party only retained power through a dysfunctional political system and a divided opposition. Thomas Eugene Flanagan is an Americo-Canadian writer and professor of political science at the University of Calgary in Alberta Canada Harper and Flanagan argued that national conservative governments between 1917 and 1993 were founded on temporary alliances between Western populists and Quebec nationalists, and were unable to govern because of their fundamental contradictions. The authors called for an alliance of Canada's conservative parties, and suggested that meaningful political change might require electoral reforms such as proportional representation. Proportional representation (sometimes referred to as full representation or PR is a category of electoral formula aiming at a close match between the percentage of votes "Our Benign Dictatorship" also commended Conrad Black's purchase of the Southam newspaper chain, arguing that his stewardship would provide for a "pluralistic" editorial view to counter the "monolithically liberal and feminist" approach of the previous management. Conrad Moffat Black Baron Black of Crossharbour PC, KCSG, OC, (born 25 August 1944, in Montreal, Quebec) is Canwest News Service is a national news agency with correspondents in Canada Europe Asia and the United States and is part of the Canadian Newspaper chain owned Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate ^[30]

Harper remained active in constitutional issues. He was a prominent opponent of the Calgary Declaration on national unity in late 1997, describing it as an "appeasement strategy" against Quebec nationalism. The Calgary Declaration, also known as the Calgary Accord, was an agreement made between most premiers of the Provinces and territories of Canada regarding how to He called for federalist politicians to reject this strategy, and approach future constitutional talks from the position that "Quebec separatists are the problem and they need to be fixed". ^[31] In late 1999, Harper called for the federal government to establish clear rules for any future Quebec referendum on sovereignty. ^[32] Some have identified Harper's views as an influence on the Chrétien government's Clarity Act. The Clarity Act (known as Bill C-20 before it became law is legislation of Canada 's federal parliament that established the conditions under which the ^[33]

As National Citizens Coalition (NCC) leader, Harper launched an ultimately unsuccessful legal battle against federal election laws restricting third-party advertising. Background The 1974 Election Expenses Act prohibited third party interest groups defined as any individual or group other than a candidate or a registered political party ^[34] He also led the NCC in several campaigns against the Canadian Wheat Board,^[35] and supported Finance Minister Paul Martin's 2000 tax cuts as a positive first step toward tax reform. The Canadian Wheat Board (known at times as the Canada Wheat Board or by the acronym CWB) was established by the Parliament of Canada in 1935 as a producer The Minister of Finance (Ministre des Finances is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's Paul Edgar Philippe Martin. PC, MP (also known as Paul Martin Jr A tax cut is a reduction in taxes. Economic stimulus via tax cuts along with interest rate intervention and deficit spending are one of the central tenets of Keynesian economics ^[36]

In 1997, Harper delivered a controversial speech on Canadian identity to the Council for National Policy, a conservative American think tank. The Council for National Policy ( CNP) is an umbrella organization and networking group for Social conservative Activists in the United States A think tank (also called a policy institute) is an organization institute corporation or group that conducts Research and engages in advocacy in areas such He made comments such as "Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it", "if you're like all Americans, you know almost nothing except for your own country. This article refers specifically to the Welfare state of the United Kingdom. Which makes you probably knowledgeable about one more country than most Canadians", and "the NDP [New Democratic Party] is kind of proof that the Devil lives and interferes in the affairs of men. Principles policies and electoral achievement The NDP grew from populist, agrarian and democratic socialist roots " These statements were publicized and criticized during the 2006 election. The 2006 Canadian federal election (more formally the 39th General Election) was held on January 23 2006 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the Harper argued that the speech was intended as humour, and not as serious analysis. ^[37]

Harper considered campaigning for the Progressive Conservative Party leadership in 1998, after Jean Charest left federal politics. Among those encouraging his candidacy were senior aides to Ontario Premier Mike Harris, including Tony Clement and Tom Long. The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945, in Toronto Ontario) was the twenty-second Premier of Ontario from June 26, Anthony Peter "Tony" Clement, PC, MP (born January 27, 1961 in Manchester, England) is a Canadian For the Australian actor Tom Long see Tom Long (actor Tom Long (born 1958 is a Canadian political strategist ^[38] He eventually decided against running, arguing that it would "burn bridges to those Reformers with whom I worked for many years" and prevent an alliance of right-wing parties from taking shape. ^[39] Harper was skeptical about the Reform Party's United Alternative initiative in 1999, arguing that it would serve to consolidate Manning's hold on the party leadership. Unite the Right, also called the United Alternative, was a Canadian Political movement from 1997 to 2003 ^[40] He also expressed concern that the UA would dilute Reform's ideological focus. ^[41]

2000-2001

When the United Alternative created the Canadian Alliance in 2000 as a successor party to Reform, Harper predicted that Stockwell Day would defeat Preston Manning for the new party's leadership. The Canadian Alliance (in French Alliance Canadienne) formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (or in French Alliance réformiste-conservateur Stockwell Burt Day Jr, PC, MP (born August 16, 1950 in Barrie Ontario) is a Canadian Politician and He expressed serious reservations about Day's abilities, however, and accused him of "[making] adherence to his social views a litmus test to determine whether you're in the party or not". A litmus test is a question asked of a potential candidate for high office the answer to which would determine whether the nominating official would choose to proceed with the appointment ^[42] Harper endorsed Tom Long for the leadership, arguing that Long was best suited to take support from the Progressive Conservative Party. For the Australian actor Tom Long see Tom Long (actor Tom Long (born 1958 is a Canadian political strategist ^[43] When Day placed first on the first ballot, Harper said that the Canadian Alliance was shifting "more towards being a party of the religious right". ^[44]

After Pierre Elliot Trudeau's death in 2000, Harper wrote an editorial criticizing Trudeau's policies as they affected Western Canada. He wrote that Trudeau "embraced the fashionable causes of his time, with variable enthusiasm and differing results", but "took a pass" on the issues that "truly defined his century". ^[45] Harper subsequently accused Trudeau of promoting "unabashed socialism", and argued that Canadian governments between 1972 and 2002 had restricted economic growth through "state corporatism". Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Economic growth is the increase in the amount of the goods and services produced by an economy over time ^[46]

After the Canadian Alliance's poor showing in the 2000 election, Harper joined with other Western conservatives in co-authoring a document called the "Alberta Agenda". The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of The Alberta Agenda is a loosely-organized Political movement initiated by a letter written by prominent Albertans including federal Prime Minister The letter called on Alberta to reform publicly-funded health care, replace the Canada Pension Plan with a provincial plan and replace the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with a provincial police force. The Canada Pension Plan ( CPP) is a contributory earnings-related Social insurance program It became known as the "firewall letter", because it called on the provincial government to "build firewalls around Alberta" in order to stop the federal government from redistributing its wealth to less affluent regions. ^[47] Alberta Premier Ralph Klein agreed with some of the letter's recommendations, but distanced himself from the "firewall" comments. The Premier of Alberta is the First minister for the Canadian province of Alberta. Ralph Phillip Klein (born November 1, 1942) was the premier of the Canadian province of Alberta and leader of the Alberta ^[48]

Harper also wrote an editorial in late 2000 arguing that Alberta and the rest of Canada were "embark[ing] on divergent and potentially hostile paths to defining their country". He said that Alberta had chosen the "best of Canada's heritage -- a combination of American enterprise and individualism with the British traditions of order and co-operation" while Canada "appears content to become a second-tier socialistic country [. . . ] led by a second-world strongman appropriately suited for the task". He also called for a "stronger and much more autonomous Alberta", while rejecting calls for separatism. ^[49] In the 2001 Alberta provincial election, Harper led the NCC in a "Vote Anything but Liberal" campaign. The Alberta general election of 2001 was the twenty-fifth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. ^[50] Some articles from this period described him as a possible successor to Klein. ^[51]

Harper and the NCC endorsed a private school tax credit proposed by Ontario's Progressive Conservative government in 2001, arguing that it would "save about $7,000 for each student who does not attend a union-run public school". For the film of this title see Private School (film. Private schools, or Independent schools are Schools not administered The term tax credit describes two different concepts The first is a recognition of partial payment already made towards Taxes due. The Ontario PC Party, formally known as the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (in french Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario) is a Right-of-centre A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming The term public school has two distinct (and virtually opposite meanings depending on the location of usage in the United States, Australia and Education Minister Janet Ecker criticized this, saying that her government's intent was not to save money at the expense of public education. The Ministry of Education (MOE is the agencies of the Ontario government in the Canadian province of Ontario responsible for government policy funding Janet Ecker (born October 18, 1953 in Simcoe, Ontario) is a Politician in Ontario, Canada. ^[52]

Day's leadership of the Canadian Alliance became increasingly troubled throughout the summer of 2001, as several party MPs called for his resignation. In June, the National Post newspaper reported that former Reform MP Ian McClelland was organizing a possible leadership challenge on Harper's behalf. The National Post is a Canadian English-language national Newspaper based in Don Mills, Ontario, a district of Ian G McClelland (b 22 June 1942, Trail British Columbia) was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 2000 and a member of ^[53] Harper announced his resignation from the NCC presidency in August 2001, to prepare a campaign. ^[54]

Canadian Alliance leadership

Stockwell Day bowed to pressure and called a new Canadian Alliance leadership race for 2002, and soon declared himself a candidate. Harper emerged as Day's main rival, and declared his own candidacy on December 3, 2001. Events 1800 - War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden, French Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. He eventually won the support of at least 28 Alliance MPs,^[55] including Scott Reid, James Rajotte^[56] and Keith Martin. Scott Jeffrey Reid (born January 25, 1964 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian politician James Rajotte (born August 19, 1970 in Edmonton Alberta) is a Canadian Politician. Keith P Martin, PC, MP (born April 13, 1960, in London, UK) is a Canadian physician and politician ^[57] During the campaign, Harper reprised his earlier warnings against an alliance with Quebec nationalists, and called for his party to become the federalist option in Quebec. Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk ^[58] He argued that "the French language is not imperilled in Quebec", and opposed "special status" for the province in the Canadian Constitution accordingly. The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's Constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions ^[59] He also endorsed greater provincial autonomy on Medicare, and said that he would not co-operate with the Progressive Conservatives as long as they were led by Joe Clark. This article refers to medicare a name for Canada's publicly-funded health insurance system for hospital and physician services Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark PC CC AOE (born June 5 1939 is a Canadian Journalist, Politician, Statesman ^[60] On social issues, Harper argued for "parental rights" to use corporal punishment against their children and supported raising the age of sexual consent. Corporal punishment is the deliberate infliction of pain intended to Punish a person or change his/her behavior ^[61] He described his potential support base as "similar to what George Bush tapped". George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. ^[62]

The tone of the leadership contest turned hostile in February 2002. Harper described Day's governance of the party as "amateurish",^[63] while his campaign team argued that Day was attempting to win re-election by building a narrow support base among different groups in the religious right. ^[64] The Day campaign accused Harper of "attacking ethnic and religious minorities". ^[65] In early March, the two candidates had an especially fractious debate on CBC Newsworld. CBC Newsworld is a Canadian English language Cable television specialty news channel owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ^[66] The leadership vote was held on March 20, 2002. Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Harper was elected on the first ballot with 55% support, against 37% for Day. Two other candidates split the remainder.

After winning the party leadership, Harper announced his intention to run for parliament in a by-election in Calgary Southwest, recently vacated by Preston Manning. A by-election or bye-election (called special election in the United States) is an Election held to fill a political office that has become vacant Calgary Southwest is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988 Ezra Levant had already been chosen as the riding's Alliance candidate and initially declared that he would not stand aside for Harper; he subsequently reconsidered. Ezra Levant (born 1972 is a Canadian blogger author journalist lawyer and conservative political activist ^[67] The Liberals did not field a candidate, following a parliamentary tradition of allowing opposition leaders to enter the House of Commons unopposed. The Progressive Conservative candidate, Jim Prentice, also chose to withdraw. James "Jim" Prentice, PC, MP (born July 20, 1956, in South Porcupine, Ontario near Timmins) ^[68] Harper was elected without difficulty over New Democrat Bill Phipps, a former United Church moderator. Principles policies and electoral achievement The NDP grew from populist, agrarian and democratic socialist roots The Very Reverend William "Bill" Phipps (born 1942) is a Canadian church leader and Social justice activist The United Church of Canada was founded in 1925 as a merger of four Christian denominations two thirds of the Presbyterian Church in Canada (then the largest Canadian Protestant Harper told a reporter during the campaign that he "despise[d]" Phipps, and declined to debate him. ^[69]

Harper officially became Leader of the Opposition in May 2002. Later in the same month, he said that the Atlantic Provinces were trapped in "a culture of defeat" which had to be overcome, the result of policies designed by Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments. Atlantic Canada, also known as the Atlantic provinces, is the region of Canada comprising four provinces located on the Atlantic coast: Many Atlantic politicians condemned the remark as patronizing and insensitive. The Legislature of Nova Scotia unanimously approved a motion condemning Harper's comments,^[70] which were also criticized by New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord, federal Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark and others. The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of the Lieutenant Governor (sometimes referred to as the Governor) and the House of Assembly, is the New Brunswick ( French: Nouveau-Brunswick /nuvobʁɔnzwik/ is one of Canada 's three Maritime provinces and is the only constitutionally The Premier of New Brunswick (fr Premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick) is the First minister for the Canadian province of New Brunswick Bernard Lord, ONB (born September 27, 1965 in Roberval Quebec) is a Canadian politician Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark PC CC AOE (born June 5 1939 is a Canadian Journalist, Politician, Statesman Harper refused to apologize, and said that much of Canada was trapped by the same "can't-do" attitude. ^[71]

His first 18 months as opposition leader were largely devoted towards consolidating the fractured elements of the Canadian Alliance and encouraging a union of the Canadian Alliance and the federal Progressive Conservatives. The aim of this union was to present only one right-of-centre national party in the next federal election, thus preventing the vote-splitting of the past. In undertaking the merger talks, PC leader Peter MacKay reversed his previous agreement with leadership opponent David Orchard not to merge with the Alliance. David Orchard (born June 28, 1950, in Borden, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian political figure member of the Liberal Party of Canada After reaching an agreement with MacKay in October 2003, the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada officially merged in December, with the new party being named the "Conservative Party of Canada". The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative

Harper is reported to have attended the 2003 meeting of the Bilderberg Group. The Bilderberg Group or Bilderberg conference is an unofficial annual invitation-only conference of around 130 guests most of whom are persons of Influence in the The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an unofficial annual invitation-only conference of around ^[72]

Conservative Party of Canada leadership

On January 12, 2004, Harper announced his resignation as Leader of the Opposition, in order to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. Events 475 - Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative Harper won the Conservative leadership election easily, with a first ballot majority against Belinda Stronach and Tony Clement on March 20, 2004. The 2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election took place on March 20, 2004 in Toronto Ontario, and resulted in the election of Stephen Belinda Caroline Stronach, DO NOT CHANGE PC TO LIBERAL - READ THIS FOR AN EXPLANATION Please note the PC after her name does NOT refer Anthony Peter "Tony" Clement, PC, MP (born January 27, 1961 in Manchester, England) is a Canadian Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Harper's victory included strong showings in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.

See also: Stephen Harper Leadership Team

2004 federal election

Main article: Canadian federal election, 2004

Harper led the Conservatives into the 2004 federal election. On January 12, 2004, Stephen Harper announced his resignation as Leader of the Opposition in order to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada The Canadian federal election 2004 (more formally the 38th General Election) was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Initially, new Prime Minister Paul Martin held a large lead in polls, but this eroded due to infighting, Adscam and other scandals surrounding his government. Paul Edgar Philippe Martin. PC, MP (also known as Paul Martin Jr The sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a Scandal that came as a result of a Canadian The Liberals attempted to counter this with an early election call, as this would give the Conservatives less time to consolidate their merger.

Martin's weak performance in the leader's debate, along with an unpopular provincial budget by Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty, moved the Conservatives into a lead for a time. Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr MPP (born July 19, 1955, in Ottawa Ontario) is a Canadian lawyer and politician However, comments by Conservative MPs, leaked press releases slandering the then Prime Minister, as well as controversial TV attack ads suggesting that the Conservatives would make Canada more like the United States, caused Harper's party to lose some momentum. In Political campaigns an attack ad is an Advertisement whose Message is meant as an attack against another candidate or Political party.

Harper made an effort to appeal to voters in Quebec, a province where the Reform/Alliance side of the merged party hadn't done well. Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk He was featured in several of the Tories' French-language campaign ads.

The Liberals were re-elected to power with a minority government, with the Conservatives coming in second place. The Conservatives managed to make inroads into the Liberals' Ontario stronghold, primarily in the province's socially conservative central region. However, they were shut out of Quebec, marking the first time that a centre-right party did not win any seats in that province. Harper, after some personal deliberation, decided to stay on as the party leader. Many credited him with bringing the Progressive Conservative Party and Canadian Alliance together in a short time to fight a close election.

Harper as Conservative leader and Leader of the Opposition

The Conservative Party's first policy convention was held from March 17–19, 2005, in Montreal. Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec Harper had been rumoured to be shifting his ideology closer to that of a Blue Tory, and many thought he'd wanted to move the party's policies closer to the centre. Blue Tories, also known as small 'c' conservatives, are in Canadian politics members of the former Progressive Conservative Party of Canada Any opposition to abortion or bilingualism was dropped from the Conservative platform. Harper received an 84% endorsement from delegates in the leadership review.

Despite the party's move to the centre, the party began a concerted drive against same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage (also referred to as gay marriage) is a term for a legally or Socially recognized Marriage between two people of the same Harper was criticized by a group of law professors for arguing that the government could override the provincial court rulings on same-sex marriage without using the "notwithstanding clause", a provision of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section Thirty-three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of the Constitution of Canada. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (also known as The Charter of Rights and Freedoms or simply the Charter) is a Bill of rights entrenched in the It also argued, in general, for lower taxes, an elected Senate, a tougher stance on crime, and closer relations with the United States. The Senate of Canada (Le Sénat du Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the sovereign (represented by the governor general

Following the April 2005 release of Jean Brault's damaging testimony at the Gomery Inquiry, implicating the Liberals in the scandal, opinion polls placed the Conservatives ahead of Liberals. Jean Brault was the president of Groupaction, a Montreal advertising firm founded in 1982 The Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, was a federal Canadian Royal Commission The Conservatives had earlier abstained from the vote on the 2005 budget to avoid forcing an election. The 2005 Canadian federal budget was the budget of the Government of Canada for the 2005-2006 Fiscal year. With the collapse in Liberal support and a controversial NDP amendment to the budget, the party exerted significant pressure on Harper to bring down the government. In May, Harper announced that the government had lost the "moral authority to govern". Shortly thereafter, the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois united to defeat the government on a vote that some considered to be either be a confidence motion or else a motion requiring an immediate test of the confidence of the House. A Motion of Confidence is a motion of support proposed by a government in a Parliament or other assembly of elected representatives to give members of parliament (or The Martin government did not accept this interpretation and argued that vote had been on a procedural motion, although they also indicated that they would bring forward their revised budget for a confidence vote the following week. Ultimately, the effort to bring down the Government failed following the decision of Conservative MP Belinda Stronach to cross the floor to the Liberal Party. Belinda Caroline Stronach, DO NOT CHANGE PC TO LIBERAL - READ THIS FOR AN EXPLANATION Please note the PC after her name does NOT refer In Politics, crossing the floor is to vote against party lines especially where this is considered unusual or controversial The vote on the NDP amendment to the budget tied, and with the Speaker of the House voting to continue debate, the Liberals stayed in power. In Canada the Speaker of the House of Commons ( French: Président de la Chambre des communes) is the presiding officer of the At the time, some considered the matter to be a constitutional crisis. A constitutional crisis is a severe breakdown in the orderly operation of Government. ^[73][74]

Harper was also criticized for supporting his caucus colleague MP Gurmant Grewal. Gurmant Singh Grewal, BSc, MBA (born December 21, 1957 in Barundi, Punjab, India) is a Canadian politician Grewal had produced tapes of conversations with Tim Murphy, Paul Martin's chief of staff, in which Grewal claimed he had been offered a cabinet position in exchange for his defection. Timothy John Murphy (born August 7, 1959 in Barrie, Ontario) is a former Politician and was the chief of staff of Some experts analyzed the tapes and concluded that a digital copy of the tapes had been edited.

The Liberals' support dropped after the first report from the Gomery Inquiry was issued. The Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, was a federal Canadian Royal Commission On November 24, 2005, Harper introduced a motion of no confidence on the Liberal government, telling the House of Commons "that this government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons and needs to be removed. Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A motion of no confidence (also vote of no confidence, censure motion, no-confidence motion, or confidence motion) is a Parliamentary motion " As the Liberals had lost NDP support in the house by refusing to accept an NDP plan to prevent health care privatization, the no confidence motion was passed by a vote of 171-133. It was the first time that a Canadian government had been toppled by a straight motion of no confidence proposed by the opposition. As a result, Parliament was dissolved and a general election was scheduled for January 23, 2006. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

On February 27, 2008 allegations surfaced that two Conservative Party officials offered Independent MP Chuck Cadman a million-dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his vote to bring down the Liberal government in a May 2005 budget vote. Events 1560 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The Parliament of Canada (Parlement du Canada is Canada 's legislative branch, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. Charles "Chuck" Cadman ( February 21, 1948 &ndash July 9, 2005) was a Canadian politician and Member of ^[75] If the elements of the story are true, the Conservatives' actions may amount to a criminal offence. Under the Criminal Code of Canada, it is illegal to bribe an MP. ^[76] An audio tape suggests then-opposition leader Stephen Harper was not only aware of a financial offer to Chuck Cadman but gave it his personal approval.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has been asked to investigate, and confirmed late February 28, 2008 that it is examining a claim from the Liberal Party that the incident violates the Criminal Code's Section 119 provisions on bribery and corruption. Events 202 BC - coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty 's rule 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The Liberal Party of Canada ( Parti libéral du Canada) colloquially known as the Grits (originally " Clear Grits " is a major Canadian political ^[77][78]

The Prime Minister has denied any wrongdoing and has subsequently filed a civil libel suit against the Liberal Party of Canada. ^[79]

2006 federal election

Main article: Canadian federal election, 2006

The Conservatives began the campaign period with a policy-per-day strategy, contrary to the Liberal plan of holding off major announcements until after the Christmas holidays, so Harper dominated media coverage for the first weeks of the election. The 2006 Canadian federal election (more formally the 39th General Election) was held on January 23 2006 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the Though his party showed only modest movement in the polls, Harper's personal numbers, which had always significantly trailed those of his party, began to rise.

In response, the Liberals launched negative ads targeting Harper, similar to their attacks in the 2004 election. In the 2006 federal election in Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada used attack ads against Conservative Party of Canada However, their tactics were not sufficient to erode the Conservative's advantage, although they did manage to close what had been a ten point advantage in public opinion. As Harper's personal numbers rose, polls found he was now considered not only more trustworthy, but a better choice for Prime Minister than Martin. ^[80]

Immediately prior to the Christmas break, in a faxed letter to NDP candidate Judy Wasylycia-Leis, the Commissioner of the RCMP, Giuliano Zaccardelli announced the RCMP had opened a criminal investigation into her complaint that it appeared Liberal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale's office had engaged in insider trading before making an important announcement on the taxation of income trusts. Klazina Judith Wasylycia-Leis (pronounced Was-aH-lish-aH-lease MP, MA (born August 10, 1951) is a Canadian politician Commissioner is a designation that may be used for a variety of official positions especially referring to a high-ranked public (administrative or Police) official or an analogous Giuliano Zaccardelli, COM is a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP officer who was the Commissioner of the RCMP from September 2, The Minister of Finance (Ministre des Finances is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's Ralph Edward Goodale, PC, MP (born October 5, 1949, in Regina Saskatchewan) was Canada 's Minister of Finance Insider trading is the trading of a Corporation 's Stock or other securities (e An income trust is an Investment trust that holds Income -producing Assets The term also designates a legal entity, Capital structure On December 27, 2005, the RCMP confirmed that information in a press release. Events 537 - The Hagia Sophia is completed 1512 - The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. (At the conclusion of the investigation. Serge Nadeau, a top Finance Department bureaucrat, was charged with criminal breach of trust. No charges were laid against then-Finance Minister Ralph Goodale. )^[81]

The election resulted in a minority government, and shortly after midnight on January 24, Martin conceded defeat to Harper. Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled Later that day, he informed Governor General Michaëlle Jean that he would resign as Prime Minister. The Governor General of Canada ( French: Gouverneure générale du Canada, or: Gouverneur général du Canada) is the vice-regal representative Michaëlle Jean, CC CMM COM CD ʒɑ̃ (born September 6, 1957, in Port-au-Prince, At 6:45 p. m. , Jean asked Harper to form a government. He was sworn in as Canada's 22nd Prime Minister on February 6, 2006. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

Prime Minister of Canada

Main article: Stephen Harper as Prime Minister of Canada

Domestic

Main article: Domestic policy of the Harper government

Unlike his recent predecessors, Harper did not name one of his colleagues to the largely honorific post of Deputy Prime Minister. This article discusses Stephen Harper's Premiership from when he assumed office on February 6, 2006 until present Several policies regarding interior and domestic issues in Canada were planned and adopted by the Canadian Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Stephen Harper Calgary (ˈkælgəriː is the largest city in the Province of Alberta, Canada Hockey Canada, formally known as the Canadian Hockey Association, is the national governing body of Ice hockey in Canada and is a member of the International The Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (Vice-premier ministre du Canada is an honorary position in the cabinet, conferred at the discretion of the prime minister. Various observers had expected him to name MacKay, the former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and his deputy party leader, or Lawrence Cannon, as a Quebec lieutenant, to the post. The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ( PC) ( Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) ( 1867 – 2003) was a Canadian Lawrence Cannon, PC, MP (born December 6, 1947 in Quebec City, Quebec) is a Canadian politician from In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a politician from Quebec, usually a francophone and most often a Member of Parliament or at least a current Harper did, however, name an order of succession to act on his behalf in certain circumstances, starting with Cannon, then Jim Prentice, then the balance of his cabinet in order of precedence. James "Jim" Prentice, PC, MP (born July 20, 1956, in South Porcupine, Ontario near Timmins) The Canadian order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the Government of Canada

Harper indicated a desire to turn the Canadian Senate into an elected rather than an appointed body, an objective previously proposed by the former Reform Party of Canada. The Senate of Canada (Le Sénat du Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the sovereign (represented by the governor general His desire includes fixed election dates with earlier elections possible in the case of minority governments. On September 7, 2006, Harper became the first Canadian Prime Minister to appear before a Senate committee and was present to make his government's case for Senate reform. Events 1251 BC - A Solar eclipse on this date might mark the birth of legendary Heracles at Thebes Greece. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

After sidestepping the political landmine for most of the first year of his time as prime minister, much as all the post-Charlottetown Accord prime ministers had done, Harper's hand was forced to reopen the Quebec sovereignty debate after the opposition Bloc Québécois were to introduce a motion in the House that called for recognition of Quebec as a "nation. The Charlottetown Accord was a package of constitutional amendments proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. The Quebec sovereignty movement ( Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement aimed at either attaining independent statehood ( Sovereignty) or some The Bloc Québécois ( BQ) is a federal political party in Canada that defines itself as devoted to both the protection of Quebec's interests on a federal " On November 22, 2006, Harper introduced his own motion to recognize that "the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada. The Québécois nation motion was a Parliamentary motion tabled by Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper on Wednesday November 22 2006 and approved A Québécois or Quebecois (pronounced) or in the feminine Québécoise (pronounced) (plural Québécoises) is a native or resident of the "^[82] Five days later, Harper's motion passed, with a margin of 266-16; all federalist parties, as well as the Bloc Québécois, were formally behind it. ^[83]

Harper has insisted on his right to choose who asks questions at press conferences,^[84] which has caused the national media to lodge complaints. ^[85] Some have alleged that the Prime Minister’s Office also “often informs the media about Harper's trips at such short notice that it’s impossible for Ottawa journalists to attend the events”. ^[86] Harper's director of communications has denied this, saying that “this prime minister has been more accessible, gives greater media scrums and provides deeper content than any prime minister has in the last 10 to 12 years”. Some suggest that the Conservatives’ then recent electoral success could be credited to their control of the campaign message, a practice that they continued when they became the government. ^[87]

Foreign

Main article: Foreign policy of the Harper government

On March 11 and March 12, 2006, Harper made a surprise trip to Afghanistan, where Canadian Forces personnel had been deployed since late 2001, to visit troops in theatre as a show of support for their efforts, and as a demonstration of the government’s commitment to reconstruction and stability in the region. The Conservative Party Government of Canada led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been involved in several ways overseas particularly due to its role Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Harper’s choice of a first foreign visit was closely guarded from the press until his arrival in Afghanistan (citing security concerns), and is seen as marking a significant change in relationship between the government and the military. While other foreign leaders have visited Afghanistan, Harper’s trip was touted as unprecedented in its length and scope. ^[88] Harper returned to Afghanistan on May 22, 2007, in a surprise two-day visit which included visiting Canadian troops at the forward operating base at Ma’Sum Ghar, located 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Kandahar, making Harper the first Prime Minister to have visited the front lines of a combat operation. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Events 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. For the 2001 film see Kandahar (film; for the Kandahar meteorite of 1959 see Meteorite falls; for the places in Azerbaijan see Cəndəhar and ^[89]

At the outset of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Harper defended Israel’s “right to defend itself” and described its military campaign in Lebanon as a “measured” response, arguing that Hezbollah’s release of kidnapped IDF soldiers would be the key to ending the conflict. Background See also Israel-Lebanon conflict The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO had engaged in cross-border attacks from Southern Lebanon For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Hezbollah (حزب الله, literally " party of God " is a Shi'a Islamic political and Paramilitary organisation ^[90] Some Canadians, including many Arab-Canadians, criticized Harper’s description of the Israeli response as “measured”. On July 17, 2006, Harper noted that the situation had deteriorated since his initial comments, but that it was difficult for Israel to fight “non-governmental forces” embedded in the civilian population. Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Harper reiterated his earlier support for Israel and called on both sides to show restraint and minimize civilian casualties.

See also: International reactions to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

Speaking of the situation in both Lebanon and Gaza on July 18, Harper told reporters “We all want to encourage not just a ceasefire, but a resolution. See also 2006 Lebanon War International reactions to the 2006 Qana airstrikeInternational reactions to the 2006 Lebanon War by evacuations and aidMilitary and economic aid in the Gaza (غزة, עַזָּה ʕazzā is the largest city in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories. Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, And a resolution will only be achieved when everyone gets to the table and everyone admits. . . recognition of each other,” referring to the refusal of Hezbollah and Hamas to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Harper laid the blame for the civilian deaths on both sides at the feet of Hezbollah. “Hezbollah’s objective is violence,” Harper asserted, “Hezbollah believes that through violence it can create, it can bring about the destruction of Israel. Violence will not bring about the destruction of Israel. . . and inevitably the result of the violence will be the deaths primarily of innocent people. ”^[91]

On June 7, 2007, the Conservative government announced it had finalized free trade negotiations with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The European Free Trade Association ( EFTA) is a European Trade bloc which was established on 3 May 1960 as an alternative for European states who were either Under this agreement, Canada seeks to increase its trade ties with Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. In 2006, the value of trade between these partners was $10. 7 billion. Canada had originally begun negotiations with the EFTA on October 9, 1998, but talks broke down due to a disagreement over subsidies to shipyards in Atlantic Canada. Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) ^[92]

On September 11, 2007, Harper became the first Canadian Prime Minister to address the Parliament of Australia. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Parliament of Australia or Commonwealth Parliament is the legislative branch of government of Australia. ^[93]

Relations with leaders of the United States

Main article: Canada-United States relations

Shortly after being congratulated by George W. Bush for his victory, Harper rebuked U. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. S. Ambassador David Wilkins for criticizing the Conservatives’ plans to assert Canada’s sovereignty over the Arctic Ocean waters with armed forces. David Horton Wilkins (born October 12, 1946) is the current United States Ambassador to Canada. The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major ^[94] Harper’s first meeting as Prime Minister with the U. S. President occurred at the end of March 2006; while little was achieved in the way of solid agreements, the trip was described in the media as signaling a trend of closer relations between the two nations.

The Harper Government received unexpected American news coverage during the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential primaries after the details of a conversation between Barack Obama economic advisor Austan Goolsbee, and Canadian diplomat Georges Rioux were revealed. PLEASE DO NOT MAKE STRUCTURAL CHANGES TO THIS PAGE WITHOUT FIRST DISCUSSING THEM ON THIS ARTICLE'S DISCUSSION PAGE Austan Dean Goolsbee is an Economist and is currently the Robert P Reportedly Goolsbee was reassuring the Canadians that Obama's comments on potentially renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) were more political rhetoric than actual policy. The accuracy of these reports has been debated by both the Obama camp, and the Canadian Government. The news came at a key time nearing the Ohio and Texas primaries where, perceptions among Democratic voters is that the benefits of the NAFTA agreement are dubious. The 2008 Ohio Democratic primary took place on March 4, 2008 and was open to registered Democrats and Independents. The 2008 Texas Democratic primary and caucuses were a series of events designed to determine the Delegates that the Texas Democratic Party will send to the 2008 The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. Thus the appearance that Obama was not being completely forthright was attacked by his opponent Hillary Clinton. Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26 1947 is the junior United States Senator from [2] ABC News reported that Harper's Chief of Staff, Ian Brodie was responsible for the details reaching the hands of the media. This article is about the American news organization See also ABC News (disambiguation ABC News is a division of American The Chief of Staff of Canada 's Prime Minister's Office is the top official of the office Ian Brodie, (born July 25, 1967 in Toronto) is a Canadian Political scientist and was Chief of Staff in Stephen [3] Harper has denied that Brodie was responsible for the leak, and says his government is trying to find the source. The Opposition, as well as Democratic strategist Bob Shrum[4], has criticized the Government on the issue, saying they are trying to help the Republicans, and could hurt relations with the United States if Obama ever were to become President. Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government particularly in a Westminster -based Parliamentary system Robert M "Bob" Shrum (born 1943) is an American political consultant, who has worked on numerous Democratic campaigns The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by [5]

Supreme Court appointments

Harper chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of the Supreme Court of Canada by the Governor General:

• Marshall Rothstein (March 1, 2006 – present)

In keeping with Harper's election promise for such changes to the process, Rothstein's appointment involved the innovation of a review by a parliamentary committee, following his nomination by the Prime Minister. The Supreme Court of Canada ( French: Cour suprême du Canada) is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian The Governor General of Canada ( French: Gouverneure générale du Canada, or: Gouverneur général du Canada) is the vice-regal representative Marshall E Rothstein, QC (born December 25 1940) is a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Rothstein had already been short-listed, with two other candidates, by a committee convened by the previous Liberal government, and he was Harper's choice. Harper then had Rothstein appear before an 'ad hoc', non-partisan committee of 12 Members of Parliament. Ad hoc is a Latin phrase which means "for this [ Purpose ]" A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. This committee was not empowered to block the appointment, though, as had been called for by some members of Harper's Conservative Party. ^[95]

Honours

Harper also received the Woodrow Wilson Award on October 6, 2006 for his public service in Calgary. Events 105 BC - Battle of Arausio: The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. It was held at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary, the same place where he made his victory speech.

Time magazine named him as Canada's Newsmaker of the Year in 2006. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and The Canadian Newsmaker of the Year is a designation awarded by the Canadian edition of Time magazine Stephen Handelman wrote "that the prime minister who was once dismissed as a doctrinaire backroom tactician with no experience in government has emerged as a warrior in power. "^[96]

Electoral record

2006 federal election : Calgary Southwest edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	Conservative	(x)Stephen Harper	41,549	72. The 2006 Canadian federal election (more formally the 39th General Election) was held on January 23 2006 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the Calgary Southwest is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988 The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative 36
	Liberal	Mike Swanson	6,553	11. The Liberal Party of Canada ( Parti libéral du Canada) colloquially known as the Grits (originally " Clear Grits " is a major Canadian political The Liberal Party of Canada ran a full slate of 308 candidates in the 2006 federal election, and won 103 seats to form the Official Opposition 41
	New Democratic Party	Holly Heffernan	4,628	8. Principles policies and electoral achievement The NDP grew from populist, agrarian and democratic socialist roots The New Democratic Party fielded a full slate of 308 candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election. 06
	Green	Kim Warnke	4,407	7. The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal Political party founded in 1983 with around 9000 registered members as of November 2007. The Green Party of Canada ran a full slate of 308 candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election. 68
	Christian Heritage	Larry R. Heather	279	0. Electoral activity National leaders Ron Gray, national leader Jim Hnatiuk, deputy leader Kelsey Larry R Heather (born in Vulcan, Alberta is a politician and activist in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 49
Total valid votes			57,416	100. 00
Total rejected ballots			120
Turnout			57,536

2004 federal election : Calgary Southwest edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	Conservative	(x)Stephen Harper	35,297	68. The Canadian federal election 2004 (more formally the 38th General Election) was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Calgary Southwest is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988 The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative 36	$62,952. 76
	Liberal	Avalon Roberts	9,501	18. The Liberal Party of Canada ( Parti libéral du Canada) colloquially known as the Grits (originally " Clear Grits " is a major Canadian political Avalon Roberts, MD (born August 18 1945 is a prominent Alberta healthcare advocate and political activist 40	$43,846. 23
	Green	Darcy Kraus	3,210	6. The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal Political party founded in 1983 with around 9000 registered members as of November 2007. The Green Party of Canada ran a full slate of 308 candidates in the 2004 federal election. 22	$534. 96
	New Democratic Party	Daria Fox	2,884	5. Principles policies and electoral achievement The NDP grew from populist, agrarian and democratic socialist roots The New Democratic Party ran a full slate of candidates in the 2004 federal election, and elected nineteen members to become the fourth largest party in 59	$3,648. 70
	Marijuana	Mark de Pelham	516	1. The Marijuana Party of Canada ( French: Parti Marijuana du Canada) is a Canadian federal Political party whose short-form name that The New Democratic Party fielded a full slate of 308 candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election. 00	$0. 00
	Christian Heritage	Larry R. Heather	229	0. Electoral activity National leaders Ron Gray, national leader Jim Hnatiuk, deputy leader Kelsey Larry R Heather (born in Vulcan, Alberta is a politician and activist in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 44	$985. 59
Total valid votes			51,637	100. 00
Total rejected ballots			149
Turnout			51,786	64. 49
Electors on the lists			80,296

Canadian federal by-election, May 13, 2002 : Calgary Southwest edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	Canadian Alliance	Stephen Harper	13,200	71. Calgary Southwest is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988 The Canadian Alliance (in French Alliance Canadienne) formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (or in French Alliance réformiste-conservateur 66	$58,959. 16
	New Democratic Party	Bill Phipps	3,813	20. Principles policies and electoral achievement The NDP grew from populist, agrarian and democratic socialist roots The Very Reverend William "Bill" Phipps (born 1942) is a Canadian church leader and Social justice activist 70	$34,789. 77
	Green	James S. Kohut	660	3. The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal Political party founded in 1983 with around 9000 registered members as of November 2007. The Canadian Action Party fielded a number of candidates in the 2006 federal election, none of whom were elected 58	$2,750. 80
	Independent	Gordon Barrett	428	2. The Social Credit Party of Alberta fielded several candidates in the 2004 provincial election, but did not win any seats 32	$3,329. 34
	Christian Heritage	Ron Gray	320	1. Electoral activity National leaders Ron Gray, national leader Jim Hnatiuk, deputy leader Kelsey Ronald "Ron" O Gray is a minor Canadian federal politician 74	$27,772. 78
Total valid votes			18,421	100. 00
Total rejected ballots			98
Turnout			18,519	23. 05
Electors on the lists			80,360

1993 federal election : Calgary West edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Reform	(x)Stephen Harper	30,209	52. The Canadian federal election of 1993 (officially the 35th general election) was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons Calgary West is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons The Reform Party of Canada ( Parti réformiste du Canada) was a Canadian federal Political party that existed from 1987 to 2000 25
	Liberal	Karen Gainer	15,314	26. The Liberal Party of Canada ( Parti libéral du Canada) colloquially known as the Grits (originally " Clear Grits " is a major Canadian political The Liberal Party of Canada fielded a full slate of 295 candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election, and won 177 seats to form a Majority government 49
	Progressive Conservative	James Hawkes	9,090	15. The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ( PC) ( Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) ( 1867 – 2003) was a Canadian Frederick James "Jim" Hawkes, MSc, PhD (born June 21 1934 is a former Canadian Politician. 72
	New Democratic Party	Rudy Rogers	1,194	2. Principles policies and electoral achievement The NDP grew from populist, agrarian and democratic socialist roots The New Democratic Party of Alberta won two seats in the 1997 provincial election under the leadership of Pam Barrett, and emerged as the third-largest 06
	National	Kathleen McNeil	1,068	1. The National Party of Canada was a short-lived Canadian Political party that contested the 1993 federal election. The National Party of Canada ran a number of candidates in the 1993 federal election, none of whom were elected 85
	Natural Law	Frank Haika	483	0. The Natural Law Party of Canada was the Canadian branch of the international Natural Law Party founded in 1992 by a group of educators business leaders and The Natural Law Party of Canada ran several candidates in the 1997 federal election, none of whom were elected 84
	Green	Don Francis	347	0. The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal Political party founded in 1983 with around 9000 registered members as of November 2007. Don Francis is a Canadian politician and political activist A member of the New Democratic Party for many years he later joined the Green Party and was 60
	Christian Heritage	Larry R. Heather	116	0. Electoral activity National leaders Ron Gray, national leader Jim Hnatiuk, deputy leader Kelsey Larry R Heather (born in Vulcan, Alberta is a politician and activist in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 20
Total valid votes			57,821	100. 00
Total rejected ballots			133
Turnout			57,954	66. 29
Electors on the lists			87,421

1988 federal election : Calgary West edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive Conservative	(x)James Hawkes	32,025	58. The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament Calgary West is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ( PC) ( Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) ( 1867 – 2003) was a Canadian Frederick James "Jim" Hawkes, MSc, PhD (born June 21 1934 is a former Canadian Politician. 52
	Reform	Stephen Harper	9,074	16. The Reform Party of Canada ( Parti réformiste du Canada) was a Canadian federal Political party that existed from 1987 to 2000 58
	Liberal	John Phillips	6,880	12. The Liberal Party of Canada ( Parti libéral du Canada) colloquially known as the Grits (originally " Clear Grits " is a major Canadian political The Alberta Liberal Party ran a full slate of candidates in the 2001 provincial election, and won seven seats to form the Official Opposition 57
	New Democratic Party	Richard D. Vanderberg	6,355	11. Principles policies and electoral achievement The NDP grew from populist, agrarian and democratic socialist roots The New Democratic Party elected thirteen candidates in the 2000 federal election, emerging as the fourth-largest party in the Canadian House of Commons 61
	Libertarian	David Faren	225	0. The Libertarian Party of Canada is a political party in Canada that subscribes to the tenets of the libertarian movement The Libertarian Party of Canada fielded a number of candidates in the 1988 federal election, none of whom were elected 41
	Confederation of Regions	Brent Morin	170	0. The Confederation of Regions Party (CoR was a Right-wing Canadian Political party founded in 1984 by Elmer Knutson. The Confederation of Regions Party of Canada fielded several candidates in the 1988 federal election, none of whom were elected 31
Total valid votes			54,729	100. 00
Total rejected ballots			117
Turnout			54,846	78. 75
Electors on the lists			69,650

All electoral information is taken from Elections Canada. Elections Canada is an independent non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.

See also

• The Harper cabinet
• Stephen Harper Leadership Team
• Prime Ministers of Queen Elizabeth II
• United States-Canada softwood lumber dispute
• List of national leaders

External links

• Prime Minister of Canada—Premier ministre du Canada, official website
• CBC—The Conservative Leader
• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The Twenty-Eighth Canadian Ministry is the combined Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Secretaries of State that have governed On January 12, 2004, Stephen Harper announced his resignation as Leader of the Opposition in order to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada Queen Elizabeth II has been head of state of 32 different Commonwealth Realms since 1952 The United States – Canada softwood lumber dispute is one of the most significant and enduring Trade disputes in modern history This is a list of current heads of state and government, showing heads of state and heads of government where different mainly in Parliamentary systems Canada Votes 2004: Stephen Harper.
• Stephen Harper Editorial Cartoon Gallery
• Stephen Harper quotes
• Stephen Harper's article on hockey in the Toronto Star
• Stephen Harper and the Theo-cons Walrus Magazine
• The Secret Diary of Stephen Harper, a satiric Weblog
• Harper sworn in as 22nd prime minister, from the CBC
• Stephen Harper at the Internet Movie Database

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28th Ministry - Government of Stephen Harper
Cabinet Posts (1)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Paul Martin	Prime Minister of Canada (2006- Present)	Incumbent
Parliament of Canada
Preceded by Jim Hawkes	Member of Parliament Calgary West 1993–1997	Succeeded by Rob Anders
Preceded by Preston Manning	Member of Parliament Calgary Southwest 2002 – present	Incumbent
Preceded by John Reynolds	Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons 2002-2004	Succeeded by Grant Hill
Preceded by Grant Hill	Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons 2004–2006	Succeeded by Bill Graham
Party political offices
Preceded by John Reynolds (interim)	Leader of the Canadian Alliance 2002–2003	Succeeded by John Lynch-Staunton (Conservative)
Preceded by John Lynch-Staunton (interim)	Leader of the Conservative Party 2004 – present	Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded by Members of the Royal Family other than the Queen[97]	Canadian order of precedence	Succeeded by Beverley McLachlin

Footnotes

Persondata
NAME	Harper, Stephen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	22nd Prime Minister of Canada
DATE OF BIRTH	April 30, 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH	Toronto
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario

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