Stephen Harper

Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959, in Toronto) led Canada through nearly a decade defined by minority and majority Conservative governments, fiscal conservatism, and a recalibration of Canadian foreign policy. An economist by training, Harper co-founded the Reform Party-aligned National Citizens Coalition before helping engineer the 2003 merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party, creating the modern Conservative Party of Canada. He became its first leader and won the January 2006 federal election, ending more than twelve years of Liberal government.

Harper governed with two consecutive minorities (2006, 2008) before securing a majority in the May 2011 election. Domestically, his government cut the GST from 7% to 5%, introduced the Federal Accountability Act, and steered Canada through the 2008–2009 global financial crisis with a stimulus package called Canada's Economic Action Plan. He also issued a formal 2008 apology in the House of Commons for the Indian Residential Schools system.

In foreign policy, Harper shifted Canada toward a more assertive, values-based posture:

• Strong support for Israel, including at the UN
• Vocal criticism of Russia following the 2014 annexation of Crimea (famously telling Vladimir Putin at the 2014 G20 in Brisbane to "get out of Ukraine")
• Withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol in December 2011
• Combat and training missions in Afghanistan, and participation in coalition strikes against ISIL beginning in 2014
• Failed 2010 bid for a UN Security Council non-permanent seat, the first such Canadian loss

Harper lost the October 2015 federal election to Justin Trudeau's Liberals and resigned as Conservative leader. He later chaired the International Democrat Union (from 2018) and founded a consulting firm, Harper & Associates. He remains an influential voice among centre-right parties internationally.