Is Stephen Harper the worst PM in Canadian history?

[they don't love you like i love you]

Oh yeah.

[Landslide Lyndon]

He was a bigot and a climate change denier, so I guess he must be up there.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Good Lord no. Obviously he was terrible, but then most Canadian PMs have been pretty terrible. Diefenbaker anyone?

[DavidB.]

Nope, rather the best.

[Rocky Rockefeller]

I think he did an alright job, for a Tory anyway

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Nah, RB Bennet was a failure in every way.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Bennet and Borden come very close, but I'll say yes.

[DC Al Fine]

No of course not. He was much to bland to be anywhere near best or worse.

[Beezer]

Aside from being a conservative, what was actually particularly bad about his stint in office? Canada seems to be doing relatively well economically.

[DC Al Fine]

Aside from being a conservative, what was actually particularly bad about his stint in office? Canada seems to be doing relatively well economically.

He won three straight elections.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Aside from being a conservative, what was actually particularly bad about his stint in office? Canada seems to be doing relatively well economically.

He won three straight elections.

There is nothing worse about a right-winger than being able to beat left-wingers.

[Viewfromthenorth]

Bennett, Borden, Bowell...generally, Canadians should not elect people whose last names start with B.

(No. Middle of the pack.)

[Antonio the Sixth]

Aside from being a conservative, what was actually particularly bad about his stint in office? Canada seems to be doing relatively well economically.

He won three straight elections.

There is nothing worse about a right-winger than being able to beat left-wingers.

Oh, come on. Even a (relatively sane) right-winger like you should know that Harper was terrible.

[Antonio the Sixth]

OK, here's the required reading:

Dangerous, corrupt, reactionary, hypocritical, pathological liar

Let's have a look in detail.
Accountability. If you remember, Harper came in on a platform of 'good governance' and his government passed the FAA. Now, Harper is the first PM to be brought down for contempt of Parliament related to corruption and lies. He has refused to disclose to Parliament the cost for his programs. His minister(s) have lied to Parliamentary committees. Furthermore, Harper shut down Parliament rather than face scrutiny over the Afghan detainees scandal. In 2005, Harper and his acolytes - then in opposition - offered dying MP Chuck Cadman a million-dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his vote to bring down the Liberal government. Bribery. The Conservatives broke Elections Canada rules in the 2006 campaign. Nice job on accountability, Harpo.

Fiscal prudence. My friend always tells me how Harper is good for the economy. Let's take a trip down memory lane, Tory friends. We have a $55+ billion deficit, when we had a $16 billion surplus in 2006 and a $38 billion deficit in 1993. Good job on that one. Let's also take a look at the G20. It cost us more than a billion, part of which went to build an artificial lake - next to a real lake, cottages and a bunch of very useful things in middle-of-nowhere Ontario. The G20 also saw, btw, the largest mass arrest in Canadian history and serious allegations of police brutality, lack of serious care for injuries, denial of access to counsel and arrest without warrant.

Again on fiscal stuff, Harper bought a whole slew of F-35s without a competitive bid. Saying that they'll cost $75 million each. A report from the US Government Accountability Office said the price doubled from $81-million (U.S.) to $156 million per plane.

Low taxes. The old creed of the right. 2007-2009 the share of federal revenue from personal income tax went from 55.5% to 60.6%. The richest 1% are taxed less than the poorest 10%. Corporate taxes went from 20% to 15.4% (+ another $5.6 billion in corporate tax cuts in the 2011/2012 budget). Corporate taxes are lower in Canada than in practically every other country: the UK is 21-28%, NZ is 28%, Germany is 29.8%, Australia is 30%, France is 33%.¹ The argument for low corporate taxes is that it encourages business growth. Sidelining the fact that this isn't a proven fact, I don't think that Germany or Australia with their high corporate taxes are third-world countries with no business. My Tory MP tells me his priority is to "keep taxes low". For who? Harpo's friends in the tar sands business or Canadians?

Fiscal stimulus! Good for the economy! More like 'pork and barrel spending'. I could attack this from Harper's 1997 or so point of view of neoliberalism and low spending, but I'll look from another angle. 60% of cash went to Tory constituencies, which make up 46% of Canada. Funding didn't go to green jobs, because Ecoenergy, Canada's successful green initiative, was terminated.

The environment. Dear Lord. Harper's government looks like the board of directors of some Calgary oil sands corporation. $1.4 billion in federal subsidies go to the very profitable as they are tar sands oil/gas corporations. Environment Canada's budget is less than that (1% of revenue). Environment ministers, all 5 in 5 years, have been failures. Rona Ambrose, John Baird, Jim Prentice, John Baird again and now some TV journalist. Harper broke the Kyoto Agreement, which we signed, pledging to go 6% below 1990 emissions. We went 35% above. Harper's -17% from 2005 would be +2.5% over 1990 levels - the weakest target in the west. Harper appointed Chris Essex, a climate change denier, to a prominent science/innovation position. The Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences had no funding in 2011. Our icebreaker Amundsen, outfitted for climate research... was leased to BP for oil exploration in the Arctic. At environmental conferences, Canada obstructed progress more than anybody else. Our role in the world as a leader for environmental progress and green policies has been squandered entirely. We won the Fossil of the Day in 2010 for the fourth day in a row. Harper's governments works with oil companies to lobby against climate legislation and promote dirty energy.

The West always throws hissy fits over the Senate. Harper supported triple-E senate reform and called it illegitimate and crony. Harper appointed a whole slew of Senators - including the likes of fat useless TV hack Mike Duffy or illiterate hockey coach Jacques Demers. Harper said an unelected Senate shouldn't block legislation. When the NDP's C-311 on climate change passed... the Senate killed it without debate.

Foreign policy. Canada has drawn sharp rebuke for its human rights policy. It cost us a seat on the UNSC. We voted against the UN Declaration of Indigenous Rights (with the US, Australia and NZ).

In other stuff...
-child mortality have risen from 6th lowest to 24th lowest.
-one in seven Canadians live in poverty, and that number is increasing.
-Harper wants to change the name "Government of Canada" to the "Harper Government"
-Harper's government breaks all record for ultra-centralization of power and decision making.
-Canadian forces transferred Afghan prisoners to Afghan authorities, who systematically tortured them. Transferring prisoners to someone who you know will torture them is a war crime under the Geneva Convention. When a diplomat blew the whistle, Harpo derided him. Prorogued Parliament. Refused and still refuses to release uncensored documents. Accountability!
-Harper's government wants to eliminate the long form census - against the advice of every respected analyst, statistician and politician. The long form census provides municipalities, provinces with useful information for transit planning, urban development, housing policies, health policies and so forth.
-Harper practically fired the nuclear watchdog when she highlighted serious issues at a nuclear reactor
-Crime is down, but Harper wants to build super prisons rather than support rehabilitation - research shows such policies make criminals more likely to reoffend. Rehabilitation programs, victim aid initiatives have had budgets cut.
-Harper attempted to repeal gay marriage in 2006
-Harper broke his own legislation on fixed election dates
-Harper wants to eliminate tax subsidies to political parties, so that big corporations could fund his party as much as they wish while cutting revenue for smaller parties.
-Harper's government spent taxpayers money on useless TV ads boasting the stimulus just weeks before an "unwanted election" (quote from every Tory)

He's also a liar.
In 1997, he publicly supported coalitions of opposition parties including the Bloc. In 2004, he attempted to bring down the Liberal government and form a coalition including the NDP with Bloc support. Now he say's their illegitimate. Losers can't form coalitions. I'm sure that Baden-Wurttemberg will be pleased to hear that their government is illegitimate.

In this campaign, his security team expelled people from rallies for having Facebook links to the opposition. He refuses to take over 5 questions. He dodges serious questions, and derides the motion of contempt as a mere parliamentary shenanigan. Harpo, this is a parliamentary democracy. You rule as long as Parliament has confidence in you. This isn't a Consultative Assembly. The CPC attempted to prevent students from voting at Guelph.

Conservative MPs are basically forbidden from speaking. They rarely show up at all-candidates debates (ex: Julian Fantino avoided the media in the Vaughan by-election). The PMO must basically screen what they say. My own Tory MP hasn't proposed one private members bill since 2006. My Tory MP hasn't brought any jobs to his constituency - in fact, a defense facility moved out of this constituency.

So, yeah. Vote Conservative.

And note that all this was before he got a majority and the ability to do basically whatever he wants. Which he used, among other things, to destroy Canada's major source of demographic and sociological data.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

No, but only because of the 'killer B's' mentioned above.

Was Diefenbaker really that terrible? The most extensive treatment of his time in power that I've read was from a source obviously inclined towards apologism, so I wouldn't say I'm equipped to form a cogent opinion on him.

[DC Al Fine]

No, but only because of the 'killer B's' mentioned above.

Was Diefenbaker really that terrible? The most extensive treatment of his time in power that I've read was from a source obviously inclined towards apologism, so I wouldn't say I'm equipped to form a cogent opinion on him.

It wasn't something by George Grant was it? I recall reading some stuff on Diefenbaker by him, and he seems like the type of author you'd enjoy.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

No, but only because of the 'killer B's' mentioned above.

Was Diefenbaker really that terrible? The most extensive treatment of his time in power that I've read was from a source obviously inclined towards apologism, so I wouldn't say I'm equipped to form a cogent opinion on him.

It wasn't something by George Grant was it? I recall reading some stuff on Diefenbaker by him, and he seems like the type of author you'd enjoy.

It was. I read Lament for a Nation while preparing a presentation on the ideological heirs of Herderian nationalism for my undergrad alma mater's philosophy club, and I did enjoy it.

[DC Al Fine]

I don't have time to try and fisk every line of Hash's post, but I'll leave a few comments.

1) Several of Hash's points could be applied to any politician which is not really relevant in ranking PM's. Pretty much every politician lies or distributes pork to favoured constituencies.

2) Hash drops dialectic in favour of rhetoric on many issues in his anti-Harper tirade. For example: Attacking Harper based on nominal (not real) deficits, or treating a separatist backed coalition like some bland grand coalition in Germany.

3) In one case he is just blatantly wrong: "Harper wants to eliminate government subsidies for political parties so big corporations can fund him" This is incorrect for two reasons:

a) Donations are limited to about $1000 each, and corporate donations aren't allowed
b) Corporate donations have historically put Reform/Alliance at a disadvantage.


Though detractors from right and left are correct that Harper is a flawed politician, I see nothing in critiques of him that would make him anything other than a bland mediocrity in the history books.

Even from a left wing POV, there are far better examples of a worse PM. You have Bowell's incompetence, Borden's anti-labour tactics, King/Borden's conscription, or Trudeau Sr. suspending habeus corpus to choose from.

[Phony Moderate]

His political career is a pile of worm food now, which should please anyone civilised individual, so whatever.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I don't have time to try and fisk every line of Hash's post, but I'll leave a few comments.

1) Several of Hash's points could be applied to any politician which is not really relevant in ranking PM's. Pretty much every politician lies or distributes pork to favoured constituencies.

2) Hash drops dialectic in favour of rhetoric on many issues in his anti-Harper tirade. For example: Attacking Harper based on nominal (not real) deficits, or treating a separatist backed coalition like some bland grand coalition in Germany.

3) In one case he is just blatantly wrong: "Harper wants to eliminate government subsidies for political parties so big corporations can fund him" This is incorrect for two reasons:

a) Donations are limited to about $1000 each, and corporate donations aren't allowed
b) Corporate donations have historically put Reform/Alliance at a disadvantage.


Though detractors from right and left are correct that Harper is a flawed politician, I see nothing in critiques of him that would make him anything other than a bland mediocrity in the history books.

Even from a left wing POV, there are far better examples of a worse PM. You have Bowell's incompetence, Borden's anti-labour tactics, King/Borden's conscription, or Trudeau Sr. suspending habeus corpus to choose from.

Obviously I don't know the specifics of these events and issues, but while Gaël gets very passionate about Harper, I don't believe for a second that he'd ever be disingenuous. Also, as someone who certainly doesn't like BQ, I think you're the one who's being hyperbolic about the whole coalition argument.

[mvd10]

No. I actually liked him apart from his climate change policy (which was really bad). But I am no Canadian and I don't really know that much about Harper's cabinets other than what I read about him the past few days so I am no expert on the subject.

[SATW]

No, anyone with a brain can tell you this. You don't have to like or respect him but Canada has definitely had worse PMs (like Diefenbaker, as some users have stated already).

Personally, I think Harper was a great PM, but even if you hate him it is ridiculous to say he was the worst.

[The Last Northerner]

Hash's snip on Harper.

Ahhh... I've been looking for this. Many thanks.