Overview
- At a Wednesday gala marking 20 years since his 2006 win, Stephen Harper said Canada must adapt to new geopolitical realities rather than pinning all difficulties on President Donald Trump.
- In advance of USMCA talks, he called for defending Canada’s industrial capacity and for reciprocating any one-way U.S. tariffs to prevent permanent economic outflows.
- He pressed for reinstating streamlined regulatory rules and for immediate construction of a West Coast oil and gas pipeline as a matter of economic urgency and national unity.
- Harper’s official portrait, painted by Phil Richards beginning in 2023, was unveiled Tuesday in Ottawa and depicts him in a historical Prime Minister’s Office setting with personal symbols including his cat Stanley.
- The events drew a cross-party roster that included Prime Minister Mark Carney, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, Jean Chrétien and other dignitaries, and Harper said a memoir will be published later this year.