The dust has finally settled following the 2015 federal election. A new government has been sworn in. Outgoing Parliamentarians have departed. A leadership race to select the permanent Official Opposition Leader will soon commence. A Speech from the Throne is expected for early December. Ottawa is gradually returning to post-election normalcy.
Yet, after nearly ten years as Prime Minister and more than twenty-five as a Parliamentarian and conservative thought leader, while Stephen Harper’s presence is missing, his ideas and influence endure. There is no question that Mr. Harper has left a durable mark on the Canadian conservative movement and federal public policy. As we will argue, he has changed Canada, and for the better.
Stephen Harper became Prime Minister in 2006 with the most developed and clear views about the role of government vis-à-vis the individual, family, and civil society of any Prime Minister since Pierre Elliott Trudeau. He had spent most of his adult life thinking about these issues and setting out his vision in clear and dispassionate speeches and writings over the course of several years. Indeed, one can argue that Mr. Harper was a conservative intellectual and policy thinker first and a politician second.
While his prime ministership involved the common trade-offs that any successful politician must make to grow and retain democratic support, there is no question that, over time, he slowly and methodically carried out his plan to reshape federal policy from the liberal technocratic consensus that had dictated the federal agenda for the previous decades.
It is worth emphasizing this point. Our argument is not that everything Harper did was directed in the first place by his intellectual view of the role of government vis-à-vis civil society. He was, after all, a politician who needed to win, and frequently did what was necessary to win.
Our argument is that Harper had the most well-developed view of government’s role since Pierre Trudeau and that understanding this worldview is critical to understanding his approach to federal politics and policy.
Harper did not seek power for power’s sake. He had a vision for Canada, a vision steeped in Canadian conservative history going back to Sir John A Macdonald, a vision that deeply informed his politics and his actions as Prime Minister.
get more mad here
How Harper’s Philosophy Transformed Canada for the Better
fun fact: written by a philandering liberalish ex-christy clark aid.
Yet, after nearly ten years as Prime Minister and more than twenty-five as a Parliamentarian and conservative thought leader, while Stephen Harper’s presence is missing, his ideas and influence endure. There is no question that Mr. Harper has left a durable mark on the Canadian conservative movement and federal public policy. As we will argue, he has changed Canada, and for the better.
Stephen Harper became Prime Minister in 2006 with the most developed and clear views about the role of government vis-à-vis the individual, family, and civil society of any Prime Minister since Pierre Elliott Trudeau. He had spent most of his adult life thinking about these issues and setting out his vision in clear and dispassionate speeches and writings over the course of several years. Indeed, one can argue that Mr. Harper was a conservative intellectual and policy thinker first and a politician second.
While his prime ministership involved the common trade-offs that any successful politician must make to grow and retain democratic support, there is no question that, over time, he slowly and methodically carried out his plan to reshape federal policy from the liberal technocratic consensus that had dictated the federal agenda for the previous decades.
It is worth emphasizing this point. Our argument is not that everything Harper did was directed in the first place by his intellectual view of the role of government vis-à-vis civil society. He was, after all, a politician who needed to win, and frequently did what was necessary to win.
Our argument is that Harper had the most well-developed view of government’s role since Pierre Trudeau and that understanding this worldview is critical to understanding his approach to federal politics and policy.
Harper did not seek power for power’s sake. He had a vision for Canada, a vision steeped in Canadian conservative history going back to Sir John A Macdonald, a vision that deeply informed his politics and his actions as Prime Minister.
get more mad here
How Harper’s Philosophy Transformed Canada for the Better
fun fact: written by a philandering liberalish ex-christy clark aid.
