Stephen Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician, the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada and leader of its Conservative Party. Her victory in the January 2006 general election ended a twelve-year Liberal Party government. In turn, the Canadian Conservatives lost the lead to the Liberals in the 2015 election, ending Harper's nine-year term as prime minister.
The origin, childhood and years of study of Stephen Harper
Where does his biography originate? Stephen Joseph Harper was born in Toronto, the son of an accountant for the Imperial Oil Company. He had two younger brothers. Stephen first attended a public and then a private school, where he first became interested in politics, becoming a member of the circle of "young liberals", supporters of the famous Canadian prime minister of the 70-80s. Pierre Trudeau. After graduationschool in 1978 entered the University of Toronto.
However, his studies did not go well, and a couple of months later, 19-year-old Stephen Harper moved to Alberta to work in the same oil company as his father. Somewhat later, he joined the Faculty of Economics at the University of Calgary, where he studied there until receiving a bachelor's degree.
The beginning of a political career
It took place in 1985. It all started with a job as an assistant to the Conservative MP Hawkes. A couple of years later, our hero becomes one of those who founded the Canadian Reform Party. And already in 1988, the future Prime Minister Stephen Harper ran for the first time in the elections to the House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament from this party. Having suffered a defeat in these elections, he again began to work as an assistant to the current deputy. During this period, Harper Stephen continued his studies in Calgary, becoming a master in economics in 1993. Finally, he tried again for the Reform Party's Calgary West constituency in 1993, and was successful.
From Reformer to Conservative
After three years in Parliament, Harper Stephen became disillusioned with the policies pursued by the leadership of the Reform Party and announced that he would not take part in the next parliamentary elections. He disliked the party's overtly liberal leanings, in particular opposing support for benefits for same-sex couples. In 1997, he voluntarily left Parliament and became Vice Presidentconservative public organization "National Coalition of Citizens". In 2002, he returned to the House of Commons following the transformation of the Reform Party into the Canadian Alliance, taking over as Leader of the Opposition to the Liberal Majority. In 2003, he led an alliance between the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance and was elected President of the re-established Conservative Party of Canada. In February 2006, after her victory in the parliamentary elections, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper appeared in the country.
First Term Program
Prime Minister Stephen Harper presented to Parliament his government's program of five key points. They were:
- Improving the effectiveness of the fight against general crime through the reform of justice for those sentenced to imprisonment for a term of five to ten years. For those convicted of crimes with the use of firearms, a ban on parole. For prisoners who had served two-thirds of their sentence, if their behavior was good, the possibility of rehabilitation was envisaged.
- Cleansing the government and local administrations of corrupt elements based on the Liability Law, which, among other things, provided for a ban on secret donations to political candidates.
- Reducing the tax burden on workers based on the gradual reduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 7% to 5%.
- Increase public spending on child support by providingdirect financial assistance to parents of preschoolers and expanding the network of kindergartens.
- Improve the quality of the Medicare system by reducing waiting times for treatment.
In addition to these five priorities, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's program included maintaining a budget surplus, resolving the public debt problem, not revising the laws on abortion and same-sex marriage, strengthening the position of French-speaking Quebec as an integral part of Canada through the provision provinces of greater autonomy.
Re-election
In the October 2008 general election, Harper's Conservative Party won 37.63% of the popular vote; while the main opposition Liberal Party received 26.22% of the vote. Thus, Stephen Harper won the election and was re-elected for a second term as Prime Minister.
2008 was the worst global recession in over half a century. During his second term as prime minister, Mr. Harper and his government have worked hard to ensure Canada's economic recovery. The prime minister also helped promote Canadian interests and strengthen the country's prestige in the international arena. To this end, Canada hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the G8 and G20 summits.
Following the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council on March 18, 2011, which gave permission for military operations in Libya if the Libyan armed forces attackedrebels, Canada said its CF-18 warplanes would go to maintain a no-fly zone over Libya.
On March 25, 2011, the House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament passed a resolution of no confidence against the Harper government, with 156 members of the opposition parties voting in favor and 145 members of the ruling party voting against. As a result, the next day (March 26) Harper announced a call for early parliamentary elections.
Third Mandate
On May 2, 2011, Harper's Conservative Party won the early election, and he was re-elected for a third term as prime minister; of his three consecutive victories, it was the first in which the Conservatives received an outright majority.
The Conservative Party received 39.62% of the popular vote and 166 of the 308 MPs that make up the House of Commons of Canada, while the New Democratic Party (which claimed to be the main opposition force) received 30.63% of the vote and 103 deputy. The Liberal Party received 18.91% of the vote and only 34 deputies, which was the worst result in its history, and thus was relegated to third place. The Quebec Independence Party took fourth place in the election, receiving 6.04% of the vote and four deputies. In fifth place came the Green Party of Canada (environmentalists) with 3.91% of the vote and one MP.
War against Islamic State and aftermath
BCanada sent military aid to Iraq in 2014 to fight ISIS. On October 22, 2014, a young Canadian Islamist attacked and killed a soldier guarding a memorial in Ottawa, near the Canadian Parliament. Later, another terrorist killed one soldier and wounded another in the province of Quebec. The incident coincided with the departure of six Canadian fighter jets from Quebec to Kuwait to participate in an international coalition bombing areas captured by ISIS in Iraq.
Loss in 2015 elections
In the regular parliamentary elections held on August 2, Harper's Conservative Party won 99 seats in parliament (against 166 in the previous convocation) and became the official opposition to the victorious Liberal Party led by Justin Trudeau. Former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper returned to the "back benches" of Parliament and continues his parliamentary activities as one of the leaders of the opposition.
Personal life politics
Stephen Harper has been married to Lauren Tiskey since 1993. They have two children: Benjamin and Rachel. The ex-premier is a passionate hockey fan. And even published a documentary book about his development in Canada, mainly in Toronto.
About his other passions, it is known that he has a large collection of vinyl records and is a big fan of The Beatles and AC/DC.
Because Harper is no longer prime minister, his family has moved back to their former residence in Calgary, Alberta, from where he regularly travels to parliament.
