The latest Canadian opinion polls suggest that Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government enjoys a solid lead over the opposition parties. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff's attempt to force an early election look doomed to failure – and his own position as his party's leader is now in jeopardy – with a clear majority of Canadians opposing […]
David Frum writes: “Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper pulled all of Canada’s officials from the hall when Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began his address. “There are times when things are being said in this world that it is important that countries that have a moral compass stand up, make their views known and our absence […]
A new opinion poll puts Canada's minority Conservative government 39% to 28% ahead of the opposition Liberals. This Conservative lead is the reverse of the position before the summer recess when the Liberals enjoyed a narrow lead. That lead had prompted renewed speculation that Canada would be forced to go to the polls again. Another […]
Stephen Harper may have missed the G20 photograph but his first meeting with Tory leader was captured on camera. The talks between Mr Cameron and Prime Minister Harper focused on the economy and Afghanistan but also how the Canadian Conservative Party had reached out to ethnic communities. Canadian Conservative officials also held talks at UK […]
Pointing to Canada’s successful system of banking regulation, Mr Harper rejects an international system of regulation. He says that individual nations must retain sovereignty over their regulatory systems but progress can be maintained on international standards. He defends Canada’s “aggressive” stimulus – citing his country’s strong underlying budgetary position – and also his decision to […]
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper used a speech to 300 conservative movement activists to argue that private enterprise cannot be the sum of conservatism. Markets can fail: "We are in a global recession principally – and we have to face this – because a lot of people on Wall Street, because of a lot of […]
In an interview for the Wall Street Journal last week, Stephen Harper set out the essence of his minority government’s foreign policy. It was in the context of political opposition within the USA and Canada to a free trade agreement with Colombia: "I’m not going to say it’s a perfect government, but we have a […]
Six weeks ago Canada’s Prime Minister was fighting for his political life as his minority government faced being no-confidenced by an unexpected coming together of the nation’s left-wing parties. He won some time after the Governor-General prorogued Parliament and, as expected, the pressure of public opinion unpicked the coalition. The coalition finally broke apart yesterday […]
Following Angela Merkel’s part conversion to a deficit-funded fiscal stimulus, Canada’s Conservatives are now increasing borrowing in order to pay for economy-boosting tax cuts and higher spending. This leaves Britain’s Tories pretty isolated on the world stage with their insistence on fiscal conservatism; an insistence that ConservativeHome.com supports. Merkel and Canada’s Harper lead minority administrations […]
Yesterday we noted that Stephen Harper had six weeks to keep his job as Prime Minister and, more significantly, the rag-bag coalition that wants to oust him has six weeks to avoid splintering apart. Providing Mr Harper comes forward with a popular budget he must be increasingly hopeful. Andrew Coyne blogs that Canadian public opinion […]
The Governor-General has today granted Stephen Harper’s wish to prorogue parliament for six weeks. In those six weeks he must hope that three things happen: His government puts together a budgetary package that commands enough public confidence to ensure that the public is happy for him to stay in office; That the Conservatives’ battle for […]
In a five minute address to Canada, Stephen Harper attacks backroom deals with separatists that could remove his minority Conservative government from office within days: Liberal leader Dion, who intends to become Prime Minister if Mr Harper loses a parliamentary confidence vote, resigned as Liberal leader after leading his party to its worst election result […]
Canada’s two main left-wing parties – the NDP and Liberals – are reportedly close to agreeing a pact that would see them rule Canada, rather than the minority Conservative government led by Stephen Harper. Despite the fact that the Liberals are in the middle of a leadership race, recent moves by Prime Minister Harper have […]
That’s David Frum’s conclusion in his National Post column: "Harper, however, will soon be standing quite alone. If Barack Obama wins the U.S. presidential election, as seems probable, Harper will be left as the only surviving conservative head of government in the English-speaking world." Although John Key is still likely to win in New Zealand. […]
Tim Montgomerie writes: Fifteen years ago the Canadian Conservatives were reduced to just two seats. The Right then splintered and spent more than a decade in the wilderness. Two years ago it managed to form a minority government but it was said that it was more of a defeat for the ruling Liberals (who had […]