Stephen Harper: Canada's Best Prime Minister Since Macdonald
Yep. You heard it here first and you won't hear this elsewhere......at least for a while. The time will come however when Harper will be regarded as what he was (and is): a conscientious, honest, modestly libertarian man who served his fellow citizens, rather than using the office to feed an inflated ego and promote projects which are thinly disguised attempts to build a monument to their respective creators.
Harper tried to get the government out of your life....no mean feat in a country like Canada. A high proportion of Canadians are quite left-wing and and even higher proportion are mindless adherents to the totally unfounded idea that governments are good, should do something, and are competent. I have no idea if Harper ever read Hayek but he seemed to understand that the best-intentioned socialist government inevitably leads to serfdom. He lowered taxes. Under his leadership Canada did relatively well during a period of global economic strife. He did perpetrate a wasteful "bale-out" (bail-out if you prefer) but I expect that he did this because he felt that this was politically unavoidable during the days of the Obama ascendancy in America.
Socially I suspect he is personally quite conservative and incidently is probably a good Christian. He did not however do much in the "social" sphere. He was largely driven by his libertarian instincts. He did rid most Canadians of an immensely expensive, unnecessary, long-gun registry. He did not even try to change Canada's iniquitous record on abortion but I suspect that was because he knew that politically, at this time, this would be a non-starter in Canada. He did not do much because I suspect, he didn't think governments should do much. Sort of a refreshing approach in this day and age.
Harper recognised the importance of assuming international responsibilities in opposing terrorists, standing up to Russia etc. He did not succeed in permanently changing Canada's military which essentially had not been a fighting force since Korea, but he tried; and during his tenure Canadian soldiers did to contribute to the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan.
Harper was hated by many because he was felt to be secretive, cold, and unfriendly. I think all charges are unfounded but who cares if they were? What matters is what the prime minister does (or perhaps more importantly, doesn't do) when in office. Canadians have replaced him with an image-conscious, overly-dramatic, "dirigiste", who seems to know nothing of history. He does think he knows what is best for you though.
Canada's present prime minister doesn't understand that Fidel Castro was a Stalinist murderer who turned his island into a prison camp. He is essentially a socialist in the classical "Fabian" mode. His recent problem with the ethics commissioner is not (to be fair) because he is corrupt; but it does flagrantly demonstrate just how out-of-touch with the real world this privileged scion is. Really, the Aga Khan should choose his friends more carefully!
Harper is looking pretty good now. I expect he will look better and better as the years roll on.