Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada
Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada

Author: William Johnson

Publisher: Douglas Gibson Books

Published: 2009-02-24

Total Pages: 514

ISBN-13: 1551992205

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There has never been a book about Stephen Harper, yet on June 28 he came close to being our prime minister. If Paul Martin miscalculates, Stephen Harper could be our next prime minister in months, not years. Who is this man? Everyone knows that he became leader of the Alliance Party and, against all odds, gathered in the old Conservative Party to create a force designed to win power, coming very close in 2004. Yet what are his core beliefs? To what extent does he agree with his party's social conservatives, who scared away voters in the last election? Where will he take us if he gets power? William Johnson has researched the Harper family background and the historical context that shaped his political career. He paints a fascinating picture of a man who, like Pierre Trudeau, trained mentally for political power like an athlete training for the Olympics, yet is not a natural politician and never really wanted the political leader’s life. By studying Harper’s approach to the main issues in Canadian politics, he shows that Harper is a sophisticated political operative, far more complex and intellectual than the right-wing Republican image that has been created for him. This is a serious, objective political biography, short on gossip but long on clear discussion of Harper’s political views – and how he got them. Johnson’s message? Don’t underestimate this man.

Right Here, Right Now
Right Here, Right Now

Author: Stephen J. Harper

Publisher: Signal

Published: 2018-10-09

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 0771038631

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In this timely and insightful new book, Stephen J. Harper, Canada's 22nd Prime Minister, draws on a decade of experience as a G-7 leader to help leaders in business and government understand, adapt, and thrive in an age of unprecedented disruption. The world is in flux. Disruptive technologies, ideas, and politicians are challenging business models, norms, and political conventions everywhere. How we, as leaders in business and politics, choose to respond matters greatly. Some voices refuse to concede the need for any change, while others advocate for radical realignment. But neither of these positions can sustainably address the legitimate concerns of disaffected citizens. Right Here, Right Now sets out a pragmatic, forward-looking vision for leaders in business and politics by analyzing how economic, social, and public policy trends--including globalized movements of capital, goods and services, and labour--have affected our economies, communities, and governments. Harper contends that Donald Trump's surprise election and governing agenda clearly signal that political, economic, and social institutions must be more responsive to legitimate concerns about public policy, market regulation, immigration, and technology. Urging readers to look past questions of style and gravitas, Harper thoughtfully examines the substantive underpinnings of how and why Donald Trump was able to succeed Barack Obama as President of the United States, and how these forces are manifesting themselves in other western democracies. Analyzing international trade, market regulation, immigration, technology, and the role of government in the digital economy, Harper lays out the case for pragmatic leadership as a proven solution to the uncertainty and risk that businesses and governments face today.

Party of One
Party of One

Author: Michael Harris

Publisher: Penguin Canada

Published: 2014-10-21

Total Pages: 626

ISBN-13: 0143193058

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InParty of One,investigative journalist Michael Harris closely examines the majority government of a prime minister essentially unchecked by the opposition and empowered by the general election victory of May 2011. Harris looks at Harper’s policies, instincts, and the often breathtaking gap between his stated political principles and his practices. Harris argues that Harper is more than a master of controlling information: he is a profoundly anti-democratic figure. In the F-35 debacle, the government’s sin wasn’t only keeping the facts from Canadians, it was in inventing them. Harper himself provided the key confabulations, and they are irrefutably (and unapologetically) on the public record from the last election. This is no longer a matter of partisan debate, but a fact Canadians must interpret for what it may signify. Harris illustrates how Harper has made war on every independent source of information in Canada since coming to power.Party of Oneis about a man with a well-defined and growing enemies list of those not wanted on the voyage: union members, scientists, diplomats, environmentalists, First Nations peoples, and journalists. Against the backdrop of a Conservative commitment to transparency and accountability, Harris exposes the ultra-secrecy, non-compliance, and dismissiveness of this prime minister. And with the Conservative majority in Parliament, the law is simple: what one man, the PM, says, goes.

Harperism
Harperism

Author: Donald Gutstein

Publisher: James Lorimer & Company

Published: 2014-08-31

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 145940663X

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Margaret Thatcher transformed British political life forever. So did Ronald Reagan in the United States. Now Canada has experienced a similar, dramatic shift to a new kind of politics, which author Donald Gustein terms Harperism. Among its key tenets: A weakened labour movement--and preferably the disappearance of unions--will contribute to Canada's economic prosperityCutting back government scientific research and data collection will improve public policy-makingEliminating First Nations reserves by converting them to private property will improve conditions of life for aboriginal peoplesInequality of incomes and wealth is a good thing--and Canada needs more of it These and other essential elements of Harperism flow from neo-liberal economic theories propounded by the Austrian economist Friedrich von Hayek and his U.S. disciples. They inspired Thatcherism and Reaganism. Stephen Harper has taken this neo-liberalism much further in many key areas. As Donald Gutstein shows, Harper has successfully used a strategy of incremental change coupled with denial of the underlying neo-liberal analysis that explains these hard-to-understand measures. The success of Harperism is no accident. Donald Gutstein documents the links between the politicians, think tanks, journalists, academics, and researchers who nurture and promote each other's neo-liberal ideas. They do so using funds provided by ultra-rich U.S. donors, by Canadian billionaires like Peter Munk, and by many big corporations--all of whom stand to gain from the ideas and policies the Harperites develop and push. This book casts new light on the last ten years of Canadian politics. It documents the challenges that Harperism--with or without Stephen Harper--will continue to offer to the many Canadians who do not share this pro-market world view.

A Great Game
A Great Game

Author: Stephen Harper

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2013-11-05

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 1476716536

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Traces the early history of professional hockey in Canada.

Canada after Harper
Canada after Harper

Author: Ed Finn

Publisher: James Lorimer & Company

Published: 2015-08-13

Total Pages: 534

ISBN-13: 1459409442

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Most Canadians know that Stephen Harper has had a tremendous impact on the country since becoming prime minister in 2006. But few have the in-depth knowledge of how far his transformation has gone -- what has already been done, and what the consequences will be in the future. This book brings together Canadian experts in a wide variety of areas. They document key changes put in place by the Harper government. There have been dramatic changes in education, health care, women's rights, science and research, guiding the economy, labour unions, water and natural resources, and aboriginal affairs. Most of these measures have been designed to be difficult, if not impossible, to reverse. Readers will for the first time grasp the breadth and depth of the Harper attack on institutions, policies, and programs that embody values and principles shared by most Canadians. Each chapter documents the dangers of a government fixated on the needs of corporations and the one percent, blinded to our environmentally unsustainable lifestyle, and expanding surveillance and security measures to intimidate and threaten opponents. The contributors to this book believe that engagement in public affairs by the citizenry can trump the power of the elites and the giant corporations who are the winners of the Harper era. As activists in public life, they propose strategies and measures to create a Canada that champions fairness, social justice, real democracy in our government institutions, action to reverse global warming, and a constructive role in world affairs.

The China Challenge
The China Challenge

Author: Huhua Cao

Publisher: University of Ottawa Press

Published: 2011-05-28

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 0776619551

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With the exception of Canada’s relationship with the United States, Canada’s relationship with China will likely be its most significant foreign connection in the twenty-first century. As China’s role in world politics becomes more central, understanding China becomes essential for Canadian policymakers and policy analysts in a variety of areas. Responding to this need, The China Challenge brings together perspectives from both Chinese and Canadian experts on the evolving Sino-Canadian relationship. It traces the history and looks into the future of Canada-China bilateral relations. It also examines how China has affected a number of Canadian foreign and domestic policy issues, including education, economics, immigration, labour and language. Recently, Canada-China relations have suffered from inadequate policymaking and misunderstandings on the part of both governments. Establishing a good dialogue with China must be a Canadian priority in order to build and maintain mutually beneficial relations with this emerging power, which will last into the future.

The Harper Era in Canadian Foreign Policy
The Harper Era in Canadian Foreign Policy

Author: Adam Chapnick

Publisher: UBC Press

Published: 2016-07-28

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 077483322X

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“Canada’s back” announced the victorious Liberal Party in October 2015. After almost ten years of Conservative Party rule, the Harper era in Canadian foreign policy was over, suggesting a return to the priorities of gentler, more cooperative Liberal governments. But was the Harper era really so different? And if so, why? This comprehensive analysis of Canada’s foreign policy during the Harper years addresses these very questions. The chapters, written by leading scholars and analysts of Canadian politics, provide an excellent overview of foreign policy in a number of different policy areas. They also offer differing interpretations as to whether the transition from a minority to majority government in 2011 shaped the way that the Harper Conservatives conceived of, developed, and implemented international policy. The analysis is gripping and the findings surprising, particularly the contention that the government’s shift to majority status was far less important to foreign policy under Harper than it had been under previous governments. The reasons why reveal important insights into the Harper decade of foreign policy.

The Big Shift
The Big Shift

Author: Darrell Bricker

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2013-02-26

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 1443416479

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For almost its entire history, Canada has been run by the political, media and business elites of Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. But in the past few years, these groups have lost their power—and most of them still do not realize it’s gone. The Laurentian Consensus, the term John Ibbitson has coined for the dusty liberal elite, has been replaced by a new, powerful coalition based in the West and supported by immigrant voters in Ontario. How did this happen? Most people are unaware that the keystone economic and political drivers of this country are now Western Canada and immigrants from China, India and other Asian countries. Politicians and businesspeople have underestimated how conservative these newcomers are making our country. Canada, with its ever-evolving economy and fluid demographic base, has become divorced from the traditions of its past and is moving in an entirely new direction. In The Big Shift, Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson argue that one of the world’s most consensual countries is becoming polarized, exhibiting stark differences between East and West, cities and suburbs, Canadianborn citizens and immigrants. The winners—in both politics and business— will be those who can capitalize on the tremendous changes that the Big Shift will bring.

101 Letters to a Prime Minister
101 Letters to a Prime Minister

Author: Yann Martel

Publisher: Vintage Canada

Published: 2012-10-30

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 0307402088

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A compendium of 101 book recommendations from Booker Prize–winning author Yann Martel (Life of Pi) to Prime Minister Stephen Harper—each with an accompanying letter, together probing the question: what sort of mind, nourished by what, do we want our leaders to have? Politely and unfailingly, every two weeks for almost four years, Yann Martel sent Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper a book and accompanying letter. He completed the project in 2011 with 101 book recommendations. Now, from the mailbox of the Prime Minister’s Office to your bookshelf comes a list of essential reading for all Canadians. This largely one-sided correspondence from the “loneliest book club in the world” (Stephen Harper never personally responded to Yann Martel’s gifts) is a valuable compendium for bibliophiles and those who follow the Canadian political scene. Smart, subversive, signed, sealed, and now available to you . . . even if your address is not 80 Wellington Street.