Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper – Leader, Conservative Party of Canada

After spending last summer pondering the Conservatives’ fumbling away of a lead in last June’s federal election, Stephen Harper now appears closer than ever to breaking the 12-year-old Liberal hammerlock.

With the scandal-ridden minority government reduced to clinging to power on a day-to-day basis, Harper stopped a fourth straight Grit majority by capturing 99 seats, the most by the Tories since 1988. He also led a disciplined drilling of the Martin government in the House of Commons over the ad contracts in Quebec handed to government friends. Those positives were tempered by the betrayal of Belinda Stronach, Harper’s chief rival in the 2003 Tory leadership race, whom the Liberals successfully wooed with a cabinet post. While Harper bides his time for an election call, his critics still question whether the Calgary MP can control the party’s mavericks, whose intemperate comments about abortion and the Charter of Rights caused the Tories to lose their lead in the polls late in the last campaign. – WG

What would your first priority be as Prime Minister?
To clean up government and to make government more accountable to Canadians.

Who do you think is the greatest Albertan ever?
Ernest C. Manning.

In 100 years, will you warrant your own chapter in the history books, a footnote to great events or a single Google hit?
I would like to be remembered for my role in creating the new Conservative Party of Canada, a party right of the centre.

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