Stephen harper when was he born

Harper used his majority mandate to further shrink government reach and expenditure by eliminating the long-form census and federal allowances to registered political parties.

After calling a long, week election campaign, Harper immediately issued several tax breaks. He also sought to focus attention on his economic record and experience in government. However, the early weeks of the campaign were filled with news from the ongoing fraud trial of Senator Mike Duffy.

See Mike Duffy Case. But the move also drew criticism that Harper was appealing to identity politics to win votes. Unable to overcome a growing national sentiment for change, Harper was defeated by charismatic Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. His party won a majority government of seats on 19 October The Conservatives won 99 seats, becoming the Official Opposition.

Harper resigned as the first and only leader of the party he had largely formed. On economic issues, Harper and then-finance minister Jim Flaherty won wide praise for their actions to help Canada through the global recession that began in He expanded free trade with a variety of new partners, including an agreement with South Korea.

He also drafted trade deals with the European Union and the Pacific Rim. Canada in faced its lowest federal tax burden in 50 years. From to , corporate taxes fell from 2. Income taxes were trimmed from 7. Harper avoided the constitutional quagmire that had ensnared several of his predecessors. He instead took a more conciliatory approach to issues of national unity. However, it suffered again in late and due to a worldwide decline in oil and commodity prices.

This resulted in job losses in the West, particularly Alberta, and a severe drop in the Canadian dollar.

He was also criticized for an anemic effort to address climate change and for failing to meet prior targets to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Most notably, he withdrew Canada from the Kyoto Protocol. Many Indigenous groups were critical of the Harper government for cutting funding to a number of Indigenous organizations and programs, and for refusing to release records related to residential schools to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

And many critics questioned the effectiveness of devoting record-high resources to fighting crime and building prisons in the face of a falling national crime rate. Harper kept a low profile in his new role. He attended Parliament only for votes and exited through a back door to avoid the daily media scrums. Now is the time to look forward.

He officially resigned on 26 August , making the announcement in a video clip posted to his social media accounts.

Harper had officially incorporated the firm in December He also accepted positions on the board of directors of real estate company Colliers International and the Conservative Fund, the fundraising arm of the Conservative Party of Canada. It invests in health care, financial and transportation companies. In February , he was unanimously elected chairman of the International Democrat Union, a group of centre-right party leaders from around the world that was co-founded by George H.

The former prime minister is expected to give a short speech at the Conservative Party's national convention. Here he is in one of his last high-profile appearances with then prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau. The two laid a wreath marking the one year anniversary of the attack on Parliament Hill on Oct. After the election, Harper, who was re-elected as MP for Calgary Heritage, stepped down as his party's leader.

He's avoided public appearances but shows up in the Commons for most votes. On a sweltering August long weekend, Harper stood outside Rideau Hall — dressed in Conservative blue — to launch his fifth federal election campaign as Conservative Party leader. The new Conservative Party, with Mr Harper at the helm, reunited Canada's political right after years of disarray.

But the father-of-two could not beat Liberal Party leader Paul Martin in the election, and Mr Martin was able to form a minority government. Observers say the Conservative Party's controversial statements on abortion and same-sex marriage lost them key votes on that occasion. Next time around, Mr Harper - a keen strategist - managed to marginalise the more extreme elements of his party. His election as Canada's prime minister in reversed more than a decade of Liberal Party rule in parliament.

It also completed Mr Harper's transformation from hard-line right-winger to a progressive conservative with a party positioned at the centre of the political spectrum. Sometimes seen as an aloof figure more at home with a spreadsheet than working a crowd, the Alberta MP managed to stay at the helm of a minority government longer than expected.

Accusations that he was a pro-Bush "extremist" who would curb abortion rights and put an end to same-sex marriages failed to stick. In , Harper co-founded the modern Conservative Party of Canada and won three successive national elections, in , , and A strong advocate for free trade and open markets, Harper led a government that focused on pragmatic, growth-oriented economic policies and results-driven social policy.

Under his leadership, Canada reduced federal taxes to their lowest level in 50 years, created 1.