I guess you could say the enemies of Stephen Harper won in their objective to get rid of him but you really have to wonder if this is a win for Canada in the long term. Justin Trudeau ran a very good campaign and is deserving of his win yet you get the feeling we have lost more than a good Prime Minister. Their are a number of significant voices that would say Canada's loss is also the loss of the free world.
There are more than a few who regarded Stephen Harper as the real leader of the free world in the absence of strong American foreign policy under the watch of Barak Obama. Harper was serious about fighting terrorism, a champion of free trade, supported the Jewish State and was outspoken in his opposition to Vladimar Putin's invasion of the Ukraine. Under Harper's leadership Canada was the only G7 state to come through the last economic turndown in relatively good shape, taxes and crime rates were kept low, illegal immigration was curtailed and our military's morale was rebuilt
Negotiating and diplomacy have their place but Harper believed that action and deeds trump empty promises and rhetoric. He was a middle class family man that ordinary Canadians could readily identify with and a formidable leader whose honesty earned him the respect of world leaders and those who opposed him. He vigorously and courageously defended individual rights, was a great friend of the family, promoted both freedoms and responsibilities and upheld true Canadian values.
There are those who would try and paint the Harper era in dark hues of negativity but honesty and fairness demand credit where credit is due. Harper gave us ten good years of stable government, moral leadership and prudent economic guidance in a world of economic instability. He was a true statesman the likes of which we may not see for some time.
