Stephen harper biography

I said Chuck had made up his mind. Harper denied any wrongdoing and subsequently filed a civil libel suit against the Liberal Party. Because libel laws do not apply to statements made in Parliament, the basis of the lawsuit was that statements made by Liberal Party members outside the House of Commons and in articles which appeared on the Liberal Party web site made accusations that Harper had committed a criminal act.

The audio expert hired by Harper to prove that the tape containing the evidence was doctored reported that the latter part of the tape was recorded over, but the tape was unaltered where Harper's voice said "I don't know the details, I know that, um, there were discussions, um, but this is not for publication? 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.

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 election. 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. Immediately prior to the Christmas break, in a faxed letter to NDP candidate Judy Wasylycia-Leis , RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli announced the RCMP had opened a criminal investigation into her complaint that it appeared Liberal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale 's office had leaked information leading to insider trading before making an important announcement on the taxation of income trusts.

At the conclusion of the investigation, Serge Nadeau, a top civil servant in the Department of Finance , was charged with criminal breach of trust. No charges were laid against Goodale. The election gave Harper's Conservatives the largest number of seats in the House, although not enough for a majority government, and shortly after midnight on January 24, Martin conceded defeat.

Jean asked Harper to form a government. Harper was sworn in as Canada's 22nd prime minister on February 6, In his first address to Parliament as prime minister, Harper opened by paying tribute to the queen of Canada , Elizabeth II , and her "lifelong dedication to duty and self-sacrifice". Behiels suggested that a political realignment might be underway, based on the continuance of Harper's government.

After the election, the Conservative party were charged with improper election spending, in a case that became known as the In and Out scandal. It dragged on for years, but in they took a plea deal, admitting both improper spending and falsifying records to hide it. In July , a group of independent academics published an assessment of past prime ministers of Canada based on the number of campaign pledges and promises fulfilled.

According to the study, the Harper government fulfilled 85 per cent of its pledges including partially-completed pledges. When factoring only completed, realized pledges, the Harper's government, in their last year, kept 77 per cent of promises. The study found that the governments led by Harper, in addition to the government led by his successor, Justin Trudeau , had the highest rates of follow-through for campaign promises of any Canadian government in the last 35 years.

On October 14, , after a 5-week-long campaign, the Conservatives increased their seat count in Parliament to , up from at the dissolution of the previous Parliament; however, the actual popular vote among Canadians dropped slightly by , votes. The opposition coalition dissolved shortly after, with the Conservatives winning a Liberal supported confidence vote on January 29, On December 30, , Harper announced that he would request the governor general to prorogue Parliament again, effective immediately on December 30, , during the Winter Olympics and lasting until March 3, Harper stated that this was necessary for Canada's economic plan.

Jean granted the request. A poll released by Angus Reid on January 7, found that 53 per cent of respondents were opposed to the prorogation, while 19 per cent supported it. Harper's Cabinet was defeated in a no-confidence vote on March 25, , after being found in contempt of Parliament. Harper thus, in accordance with constitutional convention, advised the governor general to call a general election.

The no-confidence motion was carried with a vote of in favour of the motion and against. On May 2, , after a five-week campaign, Harper led the Conservatives to their third consecutive election victory—the first time a centre-right party has accomplished this in half a century. The Conservatives increased their standing in parliament to , up from at the dissolution of the previous parliament.

This resulted in the first centre-right majority government since the Progressive Conservatives had won their last majority in The Conservatives also received a greater number of total votes than in They managed to win several seats in Toronto itself; no centre-right party had won seats in the former Metro Toronto since After the election, the Conservatives were accused of cheating in the Robocall scandal , mainly suppressing votes by directing voters to bogus polling stations.

Under the Canada Elections Act , a general election had to take place no later than October 19, In that election, Harper's Conservative Party was defeated by Justin Trudeau's Liberals, and became the Official Opposition, dropping to only 99 seats out of This was mainly because of a collapse of Conservative support in southern Ontario, a region that swung heavily to them in They lost all of their seats in Toronto, and won only three seats in the Greater Toronto Area.

They were also shut out of Atlantic Canada—the first time in decades that there were no centre-right MPs from that region. Harper was re-elected in Calgary Heritage, essentially a reconfigured version of his former riding. Hours after conceding defeat on election night, Harper resigned as leader of the Conservative Party and returned to the backbench.

In , Harper said "the Upper House remains a dumping ground for the favoured cronies of the prime minister". When Harper took office, he advised the governor general to appoint Michael Fortier to both the Senate and the Cabinet , arguing the government needed representation from the city of Montreal. After the October , election, Harper again named Senate reform as a priority.

Many of those appointed had close ties with the Conservative Party, including the campaign manager of the Conservative Party, Doug Finley. Critics accused Harper of hypocrisy the Liberals coined the term "Harpocrisy". Conservative senator Bert Brown defended Harper's appointments and said "the only way [the Senate]'s ever been filled is by having people that are loyal to the prime minister who's appointing them".

Following the financial crisis , Canada ran deficits from — Harper cut both the GST and corporate taxes aggressively. Ahead of the Canada Census , the government announced that the long-form questionnaire which collects detailed demographic information will no longer be mandatory. According to Minister of Industry Tony Clement, the change was made because of privacy-related complaints and after consulting with Statistics Canada.

Munir Sheikh , the chief statistician of Canada —appointed on Harper's advice—resigned on July 21, , in protest of the government's change in policy. The move was opposed by some governmental and non-governmental organizations. However, the Fraser Institute supported the change. Former- minister of veterans affairs Erin O'Toole stated that the closures were made to modernize the department, by moving services online and to Service Canada locations.

During his term, Harper dealt with many foreign policy issues relating to the United States, the War on Terror , the Arab—Israeli conflict , free trade, China , and Africa. He reduced defence spending to 1 per cent of Canadian GDP. In , Harper visited China. During the visit Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao publicly scolded Harper for not visiting earlier, pointing out that "this is the first meeting between the Chinese premier and a Canadian prime minister in almost five years"; Harper in response said that, "it's almost been five years since we had yourself or President Hu in our country.

On September 11, , Harper visited Australia and addressed its Parliament. During mid, Harper repeatedly voiced his opinion that Russia should be excluded from association with the G7 group of nations because of Russia's support for Russian-speaking Ukrainian dissidents. On June 8, Harper said,"Mr. Putin having a place. On March 11 and 12, , Harper made a surprise trip to Afghanistan , where Canadian Forces personnel had been deployed as part of the NATO -led International Security Assistance Force since late , 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.

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. Harper returned to Afghanistan on May 22, , 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.

Harper has shown admiration for Israel since the early s. Friends and colleagues describe his views as being the product of thinking and reading deeply about the Middle East. Toronto rabbi Philip Scheim, who accompanied Harper to Israel in said, "I sense that [Harper] sees Israel as a manifestation of justice and a righting of historical wrongs, especially in light of the Holocaust.

At the outset of the 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 Israel Defense Force IDF soldiers would be the key to ending the conflict. Harper blamed Hezbollah for all the civilian deaths.

He asserted that Hezbollah's objective is to destroy Israel through violence. The media noted that Harper did not allow reporters opportunities to ask him questions on his position.

Stephen harper biography

In December , the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations recognized Harper's support for Israel with its inaugural International Leadership Award, pointing out Harper's decision to boycott the Durban II anti-racism conference, and his government's "support for Israel and [its] efforts at the U. In March , Harper spoke at a Parliament Hill ceremony organized by Chabad-Lubavitch to honour the Jewish victims of the Mumbai attacks , which included an attack on the Nariman House.

Harper described the killings as "affronts to the values that unite all civilized people". Harper added that the quick instalment of a new rabbi at the Chabad centre in Mumbai as a signal that the Jewish people will "never bow to violence and hatred". While initially blaming the loss on his rival Ignatieff, Harper later said that it was due to his pro-Israeli stance.

Harper then said that he would take a pro-Israeli stance, no matter what the political cost to Canada. Harper backed Israel's war in Gaza and condemned Hamas. Harper said, "It is evident that Hamas is deliberately using human shields to further terror in the region. Under this agreement, Canada increased its trade ties with Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Canada had originally begun negotiations with the EFTA on October 9, , but talks broke down because of a disagreement over subsidies to shipyards in Atlantic Canada. Shortly after being congratulated by George W. The government received American news coverage during the Democratic Party's presidential primaries after the details of a conversation between Barack Obama's economic advisor Austan Goolsbee , and Canadian diplomat Georges Rioux were revealed.

The accuracy of these reports has been debated by both the Obama campaign and the Canadian government. The news came at a key time nearing the Ohio and Texas primaries, where perceptions among Democratic voters was and is that the benefits of the NAFTA agreement are dubious. Thus the appearance that Obama was not being completely forthright was attacked by his opponent Hillary Clinton.

ABC News reported that Harper's chief of staff , Ian Brodie was responsible for the details reaching the hands of the media. The Opposition , as well as Democratic strategist Bob Shrum , [ ] criticized the government on the issue, stating they were trying to help the Republicans by helping Hillary Clinton win the Democratic nomination instead of Obama.

They also alleged the leak would hurt relations with the United States if Obama ever were to become president. In February, Obama made his first foreign visit as the US president to Ottawa, in which he affirmed support for free trade with Canada, as well as complimenting Canada on its involvement in Afghanistan. From to , Canadian greenhouse gas emissions fell from to Mt of carbon dioxide equivalent CO 2 eq.

From until , during the previous Liberal government greenhouse gas emissions increased from to Mt of CO 2 eq. In December , the Harper government announced that Canada would formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol. Other federal initiatives included the loan guarantee towards the Lower Churchill Project in Labrador. In , Harper introduced the 'Public Transit Tax Credit', where individuals could claim 15 per cent of the cost of a transit pass each year.

Starting in , the Harper government implemented policies that had the effect of reducing transparency. During this government, scientists employed by the government were not able to speak with the media and inform the public of their findings without government permission, [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] the government made significant cuts to research and other forms of data collection, [ ] [ ] and significant destruction and inaccessibility of government-held data and documents occurred.

During the Harper government, it was not possible for government-employed scientists to openly speak about the government policy that prohibited communication with the media. However, following the election of a new government in , several scientists who were or had been employed by the government came forward to confirm the allegations made by anonymous sources during the Harper years.

The government made drastic cuts to scientific research and data collection. Over 2, scientists were dismissed and funding was cut from world renowned research facilities. Cuts were also made to many essential programs, some so deep that they had to shut down entirely, including the monitoring of smoke stack emissions, food inspections, oil spills, water quality, and climate change.

This was ostensibly due to privacy concerns, however, the number of complaints about privacy proved to be minimal. The government closed a number of government libraries without consultation on the closings or the process involved. The manner in which it was done received significant criticism because it left the remaining information in disarray, inaccessible for research.

Harper, on January 29, , advised the governor general to appoint new Conservative senators to fill five vacancies in the Senate, one each for Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick, and two for Ontario. This changed the party standings in the Senate, which had previously been dominated by Liberals, to 51 Conservatives, 49 Liberals, and five others.

Harper returned to Ottawa as a Conservative backbencher and addressed a meeting of the Conservative caucus that included defeated MPs in November Harper announced in May that he planned to resign his seat in the House of Commons during the summer before the fall session of Parliament. On February 2, , Harper revealed in a statement that he knew about the sexual assault allegations against then Conservative MP Rick Dykstra during the election but could not justify removing him as a candidate because the investigation was closed by police a year before the election.

On November 19, , Harper appeared on a show hosted by Ben Shapiro , where he made comments on issues such as populism, immigration and nationalism. The National Post noted that they "echo the argument made in his recently released book, Right Here, Right Now: Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption , which urges conservatives to listen to populist grievances, rather than focus on other priorities like tax cuts for the wealthy.

On March 11, , during a virtual gathering hosted by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute, Harper claimed that the world has entered into a Second Cold War between the United States and China, and that middle-power countries such as Canada are also a part of the rivalry between the two main powers. In the interview, Harper criticized the Trudeau government's large-scale deficit spending during the COVID pandemic , calling it "overkill".

He also criticized " woke culture". On July 25, , Harper endorsed his former cabinet minister Pierre Poilievre for the leadership of the Conservative Party. This was the first time Harper endorsed a federal Conservative leadership candidate; he previously chose not to in the and leadership elections. On March 22, , during a conservative conference in Ottawa, Harper criticized the Trudeau government's handling of Chinese government interference in the and Canadian federal elections.

He also criticized the NDP, calling them a "branch plant of the Liberal party" and argued that the party got "nothing" out of its confidence-and-supply agreement with the Liberal Party. The awards ceremony was held at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary, the same place where he made his victory speech. Time magazine also named him as Canada's Newsmaker of the Year in 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".

He is the first Canadian to be awarded this medal. On July 11, , Harper was honoured by Alberta's Blood tribe. He was made Honorary Chief of the Kainai Nation during a ceremony, in which they recognized him for making an official apology on behalf of the Government of Canada for the residential schools abuse. Harper issued this apology in The chief of the tribe explained that he believes the apology officially started the healing and rebuilding of relations between the federal and native councils.

Lester B. This award was offered through a US group of various faith representatives. This occurred at a black tie banquet in New York. In , he was appointed a Member of the Alberta Order of Excellence , the province's civilian honour for merit. Harper married Laureen Teskey on December 11, An avid follower of ice hockey , he has been a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs since his childhood in the Leaside and Etobicoke communities in Toronto.

He published a book, A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs and the Rise of Professional Hockey , which chronicles the growth of professional hockey, particularly in Toronto, [ ] and writes articles occasionally on the subject. He was interviewed and expressed his views on the state of hockey and his preference for an overtime period in lieu of a shoot-out.

Harper had a cameo appearance in an episode of the television show Corner Gas , which aired March 12, He was also accompanied by Herringbone, an Ottawa band with whom he regularly practices. He was the first prime minister to employ a personal stylist, Michelle Muntean, whose duties range from coordinating his clothing to preparing his hair and makeup for speeches and television appearances.

While she used to be on the public payroll, she has been paid for by the Conservative Party since "some time [in] ". As of , the Harper family had two cats, Stanley and Gypsy. Bold indicates parties with members elected to the House of Commons. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read View source View history. Tools Tools.

Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Prime Minister of Canada from to For other people named Stephen Harper, see Stephen Harper disambiguation. The Right Honourable. Liberal until Progressive Conservative — Reform — Alliance — Laureen Teskey. Stephen Harper's voice. Reform Party MP — Out of parliament — Leader of the Canadian Alliance — Leader of the Conservative Party.

See also: Conservative Party of Canada leadership election. Main article: Canadian federal election. Prime Minister of Canada — Aberhart Bennett R. Bennett W. Extant parties. Historical parties. Other organizations. Main article: Premiership of Stephen Harper. Main article: — Canadian parliamentary dispute. See also: Canada anti-prorogation protests and Prorogation in Canada.

Domestic and economic policy. Main article: Domestic policy of the Harper government. Main article: Foreign policy of the Stephen Harper government. See also: International reactions to the Lebanon War. See also: Canada—United States relations. Main article: Environmental policy of the Stephen Harper government. Post-premiership —present.

Conservative backbencher — After politics —present. This list is incomplete ; you can help by adding missing items. The Liberals were tainted by a scandal: a multi-million-dollar government public relations fund in Quebec had been revealed to be a slush fund for Liberal politicians and their supporters. When a new election was scheduled for January of , Harper, learning the lessons of his defeat, worked to present himself as a moderate who had shifted from his earlier hard-line conservatism.

He deemphasized foreign policy and divisive social issues. He favored increasing the size of the Canadian military and said he would reexamine Canada's decision not to participate in the U. Martin again portrayed Harper as a right-winger too close to U. The Conservatives won the election, which took place on January 23, taking seats, the largest bloc in Parliament.

Harper was sworn in as prime minister on February 6. Because the vote was split among four parties, however, the Conservatives won only about 36 percent of the popular vote and did not win a majority in Parliament. Instead, Harper became the leader of a minority government, which needs to attract votes from one of the other parties to pass legislation.

Still a shrewd strategist, Harper immediately reached out to Quebec, hoping to build conservative support there. It was a bold move, since conservatives from Alberta, Harper's base, are usually opposed to addressing mostly-French-speaking Quebec's long list of grievances. But Harper quickly altered the federal budget to give the provinces more control over spending, a popular move in both the west and Quebec.

He also gave Quebec a formal role in Canada's delegation to a United Nations ' cultural organization. The hope was that Quebec might elect more Conservatives in the next national election, strengthening the party's fragile plurality in Parliament. By November, Harper introduced a bill into Parliament that would declare Quebec a separate nation within a united Canada.

He was aiming to pre-empt a similar proposal written by the Bloc Quebecois, the Quebec separatist party in Parliament, that would call Quebec a separate nation, without the "united Canada" language. Harper's bill quickly passed. In May of , Harper won a significant victory for his pro-American foreign policy, but by the barest of margins. A bill to keep Canada's contingent of 2, troops in Afghanistan passed Parliament by a vote of to Ever since the U.

But the mission had become increasingly unpopular in Canada. The bill approved keeping the troops in Afghanistan until early But by September, Harper was forced to defend the deployment again. The Canadian troops suffered an increased number of casualties in mid as they took a wider role in the dangerous province of Kandahar. Four soldiers died in one day in September, and a U.

As a candidate and opposition leader, Harper had spoken out against Canada's legalization of gay marriage. But his attempt to revisit the issue was rejected by Parliament in December of by a vote of to The three other parties in Parliament opposed the bill, as did 13 Conservatives. As began, political commentators were anticipating that another election would probably take place sometime that year, possibly as early as spring, since minority governments in Canada usually only last a year or two.

Laureen Teskey. References [ change change source ]. CBC News. Retrieved July 30, Global News. Retrieved Toronto Star. October 19, Retrieved October 19, CTV News. Prime Ministers of Canada. Laurent Diefenbaker Pearson P. Trudeau Clark P. Prime Minister Harper implemented a clear and principled foreign policy. Prime Minister Harper also oversaw a dramatic deepening of relations with India, and developed a strategic and balanced relationship with successive Chinese leaders while refusing to shy away from raising issues of human rights and trade imbalances.

As the host leader of the G summit in Toronto, and as an economist by training, Prime Minister Harper helped shape financial reform frameworks, implemented a sustainable approach to fiscal stimulus, and led the call for open markets and pragmatic, growth-oriented economic policy.