John Ivison, nationalpost.com, Last Updated: May 6, 2011 7:13 PM ET
OTTAWA — Stephen Harper, a cautious man, has learned that “surprises are not generally well received by the public.’’ He told reporters last week that, as to matters between his government and the public, ‘‘We will move forward with what they are comfortable with.” That clearly does not include introducing legislation on the death penalty, abortion or gay marriage. To do so would open up the middle ground of Canadian politics to the Liberal Party — the last thing the Prime Minister wants to do. The “hidden agenda” stuff mooted by his wild-eyed critics is just plain silly.
But no one should imagine that this is a government without ideological convictions. Mr. Harper’s conservatism is bred in his bones and over the next four years, now that he controls the Commons, we can expect to see the centre of political gravity being nudged subtly to the right — just as it has for the past five years. So where will he move?
We already know about his intention to kill the gun registry and the party political subsidy; his plans to reform the Senate and to introduce the crime package aimed at making Canada more punitive than it has traditionally been. During the election, Mr. Harper talked of little else but the economy and the need for a stable national government. It is clear his first order of business will be to introduce, or perhaps re-introduce, a budget. Other big ticket items this year will be trade and security negotiations with the U.S. and the European Union.
We could also see movement on healthcare. In Calgary this week, Mr. Harper said there is room for experimentation but he will not question the fundamentals of the system. At the same time, he also knows the system is unsustainable without reform — and that the public is willing to contemplate private involvement to improve quality and contain costs.
We will certainly see the growth in government spending curtailed in the coming years – though that, of course, does not mean program spending will drop in absolute terms (The budget introduced in March projected total expenses rising over $300-billion for the first time within four years. Since then, in their election platform, the Tories have pledged to cut $11-billion in spending, on top of the $11-billion they claim they have already identified in past strategic reviews). The realization of Brian Mulroney’s promise of “pink slips and running shoes” for federal civil servants is likely to cause consternation in Ottawa but probably not much further afield.
These will be just the first of a number of measures designed in gradual fashion to make Canada a more conservative country, now that the Tories are not encumbered by the opposition parties. But, in doing so, Mr. Harper knows he has to bring Canadians along with him — and to respect the linguistic, ethnic, racial and religious differences in the country.
It is instructive to look back at the speech Mr. Harper gave at the Tory convention in Winnipeg in November, 2008, when he first spoke of the Conservative Party being “Canada’s party” — “the biggest, broadest and most national of Canada’s parties.” That trend has been re-inforced by an election in which the party won 48% of the vote outside Quebec.
In that speech he talked about “conservative values being Canadian values” – curious because he used to get wound up when the Liberals used to appropriate the “values” proposition. He defined those values as “love of country; commitment to community; devotion to family; respect for peace, order and law; and reward for risk and hard work.” In an interview during the 2008 election, he told me he didn’t see this as a “theological agenda.” Rather, the importance of family could be emphasized through tax measures.
While Mr. Harper is not a typical hard-line social conservative, he has no time for the moral relativism of the left. He sees himself as classical liberal, in the mould of Edmund Burke, the Anglo-Irish political theorist who advocated organic reform. In a speech to Civitas, a Conservative interest group, in 2003, he said Canada must rediscover and re-establish the fundamentals of Burkean social conservatism. “That means taking steps to promote and protect the traditional family, banning child pornography, raising the age of sexual consent, strengthening the institution of marriage and providing choice in education.”
Yet, in keeping with the view of him as a gradualist, he said policies must not be denominational. “[They] must attract believers of as many creeds and faith as possible. We must realize that real gains are inevitably incremental. Conservatives should be satisfied if the agenda is moving in the right direction, even if slowly.”
In the 2008 interview with the National Post, he used similar language to describe the convergence of the country and his party. “We’re moving the country in the right direction and the party is becoming, I wouldn’t say centrist, I’d say maybe more pragmatic. I’ve learned that myself,” he said. At that time, he warned his political base that, although he recognized he has to deliver something for them, they would have to understand they cannot get everything they want. “We represent many interests, not just within the party, but [also] the broad interests of the Canadian population,” he said.
According to a nationwide post-election study of opinions carried out by Ensight Canada this week, voters gave Stephen Harper a mandate with clear and specific boundaries – get on with fixing the economy and don’t deviate on an ideological course. Canadians want lower taxes, less regulation, less spending and more foreign investment but won’t tolerate him veering off to pursue hard right policies, Ensight said.
A dispassionate look at Canada in 2011 suggests it has not changed fundamentally from the Canada of 2005. Tom Flanagan, a professor of political science at the University of Calgary and Mr. Harper’s former mentor, wrote recently that there have been no major constitutional or institutional changes under the Conservatives; Liberal policies in public spending have continued, including the military build-up started under Paul Martin. The combat mission in Afghanistan started by the Liberals was extended. The personal and corporate tax cuts initiated by the Liberals were continued. True, the Conservatives didn’t proceed with the Kelowna Accord or the national public daycare system but there have been few relatively few genuinely dramatic policy shifts.
At the same time, Mr. Harper has consolidated gains that are almost imperceptible. If he serves his full term, he will pass Brian Mulroney to become Canada’s sixth longest serving Prime Minister. One suspects that by the next election, Mr. Harper will consider his Prime Ministership a success if he judges conservatism has become the natural governing philosophy of Canada.
OTTAWA — Stephen Harper, a cautious man, has learned that “surprises are not generally well received by the public.’’ He told reporters last week that, as to matters between his government and the public, ‘‘We will move forward with what they are comfortable with.” That clearly does not include introducing legislation on the death penalty, abortion or gay marriage. To do so would open up the middle ground of Canadian politics to the Liberal Party — the last thing the Prime Minister wants to do. The “hidden agenda” stuff mooted by his wild-eyed critics is just plain silly.
But no one should imagine that this is a government without ideological convictions. Mr. Harper’s conservatism is bred in his bones and over the next four years, now that he controls the Commons, we can expect to see the centre of political gravity being nudged subtly to the right — just as it has for the past five years. So where will he move?
We already know about his intention to kill the gun registry and the party political subsidy; his plans to reform the Senate and to introduce the crime package aimed at making Canada more punitive than it has traditionally been. During the election, Mr. Harper talked of little else but the economy and the need for a stable national government. It is clear his first order of business will be to introduce, or perhaps re-introduce, a budget. Other big ticket items this year will be trade and security negotiations with the U.S. and the European Union.
We could also see movement on healthcare. In Calgary this week, Mr. Harper said there is room for experimentation but he will not question the fundamentals of the system. At the same time, he also knows the system is unsustainable without reform — and that the public is willing to contemplate private involvement to improve quality and contain costs.
We will certainly see the growth in government spending curtailed in the coming years – though that, of course, does not mean program spending will drop in absolute terms (The budget introduced in March projected total expenses rising over $300-billion for the first time within four years. Since then, in their election platform, the Tories have pledged to cut $11-billion in spending, on top of the $11-billion they claim they have already identified in past strategic reviews). The realization of Brian Mulroney’s promise of “pink slips and running shoes” for federal civil servants is likely to cause consternation in Ottawa but probably not much further afield.
These will be just the first of a number of measures designed in gradual fashion to make Canada a more conservative country, now that the Tories are not encumbered by the opposition parties. But, in doing so, Mr. Harper knows he has to bring Canadians along with him — and to respect the linguistic, ethnic, racial and religious differences in the country.
It is instructive to look back at the speech Mr. Harper gave at the Tory convention in Winnipeg in November, 2008, when he first spoke of the Conservative Party being “Canada’s party” — “the biggest, broadest and most national of Canada’s parties.” That trend has been re-inforced by an election in which the party won 48% of the vote outside Quebec.
In that speech he talked about “conservative values being Canadian values” – curious because he used to get wound up when the Liberals used to appropriate the “values” proposition. He defined those values as “love of country; commitment to community; devotion to family; respect for peace, order and law; and reward for risk and hard work.” In an interview during the 2008 election, he told me he didn’t see this as a “theological agenda.” Rather, the importance of family could be emphasized through tax measures.
While Mr. Harper is not a typical hard-line social conservative, he has no time for the moral relativism of the left. He sees himself as classical liberal, in the mould of Edmund Burke, the Anglo-Irish political theorist who advocated organic reform. In a speech to Civitas, a Conservative interest group, in 2003, he said Canada must rediscover and re-establish the fundamentals of Burkean social conservatism. “That means taking steps to promote and protect the traditional family, banning child pornography, raising the age of sexual consent, strengthening the institution of marriage and providing choice in education.”
Yet, in keeping with the view of him as a gradualist, he said policies must not be denominational. “[They] must attract believers of as many creeds and faith as possible. We must realize that real gains are inevitably incremental. Conservatives should be satisfied if the agenda is moving in the right direction, even if slowly.”
In the 2008 interview with the National Post, he used similar language to describe the convergence of the country and his party. “We’re moving the country in the right direction and the party is becoming, I wouldn’t say centrist, I’d say maybe more pragmatic. I’ve learned that myself,” he said. At that time, he warned his political base that, although he recognized he has to deliver something for them, they would have to understand they cannot get everything they want. “We represent many interests, not just within the party, but [also] the broad interests of the Canadian population,” he said.
According to a nationwide post-election study of opinions carried out by Ensight Canada this week, voters gave Stephen Harper a mandate with clear and specific boundaries – get on with fixing the economy and don’t deviate on an ideological course. Canadians want lower taxes, less regulation, less spending and more foreign investment but won’t tolerate him veering off to pursue hard right policies, Ensight said.
A dispassionate look at Canada in 2011 suggests it has not changed fundamentally from the Canada of 2005. Tom Flanagan, a professor of political science at the University of Calgary and Mr. Harper’s former mentor, wrote recently that there have been no major constitutional or institutional changes under the Conservatives; Liberal policies in public spending have continued, including the military build-up started under Paul Martin. The combat mission in Afghanistan started by the Liberals was extended. The personal and corporate tax cuts initiated by the Liberals were continued. True, the Conservatives didn’t proceed with the Kelowna Accord or the national public daycare system but there have been few relatively few genuinely dramatic policy shifts.
At the same time, Mr. Harper has consolidated gains that are almost imperceptible. If he serves his full term, he will pass Brian Mulroney to become Canada’s sixth longest serving Prime Minister. One suspects that by the next election, Mr. Harper will consider his Prime Ministership a success if he judges conservatism has become the natural governing philosophy of Canada.
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