Stephen Harper

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Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian economist and former politician who served as Canada's 22nd prime minister from February 6, 2006 to November 4, 2015.

Harper has been the leader of the International Democrat Union since February 2018. Stephen Harper has been elected seven times in his career and spent nine years as Canada's prime minister, winning three elections as party leader and three others.

Harper was the first prime minister to come from Canada's modern Conservative Party, although older centre-right conservative parties have existed for almost two decades since Canada's founding. Harper, one of Canada's founding members, was first elected to the House of Commons in 1993 in Calgary West.

He did not run for re-election in the 1997 federal election.

Harper later joined and led the National Citizens Coalition, a conservative lobbyist group.

He replaced Stockwell Day as the head of the Canadian Alliance, the successor to the Reform Party, and returned to parliament as the Opposition leader after winning Preston Manning's former seat.

Early life and education

Harper was born and raised in Leaside, Ontario, the first of three sons of Margaret (née Johnston) and Joseph Harris Harper, an accountant at Imperial Oil, were born and raised. The Harper family has roots back to Yorkshire, England, with Christopher Harper emig to Nova Scotia in 1784, where he later served as justice of the peace in the area that is now New Brunswick.

Harper attended Northlea Public School and then John G. Althouse Middle School and Richview Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke, Toronto. He graduated from high school in 1978 and was a member of Richview Collegiate's Reach for the Top, a televised academic quiz show for high school students. Harper studied at Trinity College in Toronto before moving to Alberta. Harper dropped out of the University of Toronto and into Edmonton, Alberta, where he found work in Imperial Oil's mail room. Later, he began to work on the company's information networks. He resumed postsecondary studies at the University of Calgary, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in economics in 1985. He earned a master's degree in economics, which he obtained in 1991. Harper has maintained strong links to the University of Calgary throughout his career. Harper, who earned his degree as an economist, was the first prime minister without a law degree since Joe Clark, the first prime minister without a degree.

The backbencher and post-political life of a Conservative backbencher and a post-political life.

Harper reeming to Ottawa as a Tory backbencher and speaking at a meeting of the Conservative caucus in November 2015 that contained defeated MPs. Harper will be in the House of Commons for vital votes as the representative for Calgary Heritage, according to interim Prime Minister Rona Ambrose, but he had earned the right to keep a low profile after his time as Prime Minister. Harper admitted in February 2018 that he may have still "eassibly" been the leader of the Conservative Party, but that he did not want to be a hero of the party in order to guarantee the party's survival.

Harper & Associates Consulting Inc., a company that lists him as a director alongside close associates Ray Novak and Jeremy Hunt, founded in December 2015.

Harper said in May 2016 that he intends to resign his seat in the House of Commons before the fall session of Parliament. He was appointed as a board member for the Conservative Party's fundraising arm on May 26, 2016. The Conservative Fund has been cited as a factor in the group's operations. Harper and other executives were involved in the demise of Harper-appointed Conservative executive director Dustin Van Vught's from office in order to avoid backlash from donors and grassroots conservatives alike. Harper made a speech to the 2016 Conservative Party convention, where the party's leaders and prime minister were lauded by the party.

Harper sparked national attention in October 2017 for his criticism of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's handling of the North American Free Trade Agreement under President Donald Trump's administration, saying that Trudeau was too reluctant to make compromises to the United States, allied too closely with Mexico, and pushed left-wing policies into the renegotiations.

Harper revealed in a tweet that he was aware of the sexual harassment charges against then Conservative MP Rick Dykstra in the 2015 election but that he did not oppose him as a candidate because the probe was closed by police a year before the election.

Harper attended the international Fellowship of Christians and Jews Gala in Mar-a-Lago, where he expressed his support for US President Donald Trump's address in Jerusalem on March 26, 2018. On May 9, Trump defended his decision to pull out of the Iran agreement by lending his signature to an ad that ran in the New York Times a day after the decision.

Harper appeared on a Ben Shapiro show on November 19, 2018, where he made remarks on topics such as populism, immigration, and nationalism. "Echo the argument made in his recently published book, Right Here, Right Now: Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption," the National Post said, urging conservatives to listen to populist complaints rather than focusing on other topics, such as tax cuts for the wealthy."

Harper appeared on a PragerU video in January 2019, a reminder that Donald Trump was elected to the presidency in the 2016 United States election. He appeared on another PragerU video in May 2019 demonstrating the reasons to support Israel in the Israeli–Palestinian war.

Harper said on March 11, 2021, during a virtual meeting hosted by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute, that the world has entered a Second Cold War between the US and China, and that middle-power countries such as Canada are now a part of the conflict between the two main powers.

Harper appeared on the podcast American Optimist, hosted by Joe Lonsdale in 2021. Harper blasted the Trudeau government's large deficit spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it "overkill." He also criticized "woke culture."

Harper endorsed former Cabinet Minister Pierre Poilievre for the Conservative Party's leadership on July 25, 2022. This was the first time Harper endorsed a federal Conservative leadership candidate; he had previously declined not to run in the 2017 and 2020 leadership elections.

Harper and other former prime ministers attended Elizabeth II's state funeral in September 2022.

Personal life

Harper married Laureen Teskey on December 11, 1993. Laureen was previously married to New Zealander Neil Fenton from 1985 to 1988. Benjamin and Rachel are the Harpers' two children. Harper is the third prime minister after Pierre Trudeau and John Turner's departure from his children to Rockcliffe Park Public School in Ottawa. He is a member of the evangelical Christian and Missionary Alliance and attends the East Gate Alliance Church in Ottawa.

Since his youth in Toronto's Leaside and Etobicoke communities, he has been a fan of ice hockey. Harper is also a fan of the Calgary Flames. He wrote a book titled A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs and the Rise of Professional Hockey (2013), which chronicles professional hockey's development, especially in Toronto, and he writes occasional articles on the topic. During the live broadcast of the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Harper appeared on The Sports Network (TSN). He was interviewed and discussed his opinions on hockey in the state of Ontario and his preference for an overtime period in lieu of a shoot-out. For a Saskatoon Kinsmen Club charity function in February 2010, Harper interviewed former National Hockey League legend Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe.

Harper made a cameo appearance in an episode of Corner Gas, which aired on March 12, 2007. He has a massive vinyl record collection and is a huge fan of The Beatles and AC/DC. He appeared with Yo-Yo Ma on stage in a National Arts Centre gala in October 2009 and performed "With a Little Help from My Friends." He was also accompanied by Herringbone, an Ottawa band with whom he regularly performs. After providing the piano accompaniment and lead vocals for the piece, he received a standing ovation.

Harper appeared in a cameo appearance in an episode of Murdoch Mysteries, which aired on July 20, 2011, during the show's fourth season.

Michelle Muntean, the first prime minister to use a personal stylist, whose duties ranged from coordinating his clothing to preparing his hair and makeup for speeches and television appearances. Although she used to be on the federal payroll, the Conservative Party has been paying for her since "some time [in] 2007.

Stanley and Gypsy were the Harper family's two cats as of 2013. They've also fostered other cats.

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