Stephen Harper: True Spirit

Canada Dept: - Stephen Harper victory speech, May 2, 2011, according to Montreal Gazette. For five years after he won the keys to 24 Sussex Dr. in 2006, the narrative of Stephen Harper rested on two pillars. First, he was tactically brilliant, a ruthless and effective political gamesman. Second, he was stridently ideological, champing at the bit to remake Canada in his own image. The "hidden agenda," Harper's critics assured us, would roll back the clock on a host of long-settled social issues - abortion, gay marriage and capital punishment being the Big Three - and impose a wrenching, Mike Harris-style revolution across the land. "There is a spirit in this land, the true spirit, the true character of the Canadian people - a compassionate neighbour, a courageous warrior, a confident partner - that's the spirit of the Canada I know. Canadians are proud of that spirit, and they trust us to live by that spirit." Quite a night that was. Historic, many have said. But what happened? (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.