Stephen Harper Biography

Stephen Joseph Harper is a Canadian entrepreneur, economist, retired politician, and former Prime Minister of the country. The 22nd person to hold the office, he is the longest-serving Conservative Prime Minister of Canada since Sir John A. Macdonald. He was involved with the ‘Young Liberal Club’ in his school days, but in a complete shift of ideology, he served as the chief aide of Progressive Conservative MP Jim Hawkes in 1985. However, he quickly grew disillusioned, leaving the party before the year was over. After playing a pivotal role in the foundation of the ‘Reform Party of Canada’ in 1987, he served as the head of the 'National Citizens Coalition' and would go on to lead the ‘Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance’. He revolutionised the modern political landscape of his country by consolidating the formerly divided and declining right wing into the ‘Conservative Party’ of Canada (CPC). As a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Calgary Heritage electoral district in Alberta, Harper marshalled CPC to three consecutive federal election victories. He was eventually defeated by the ‘Liberal Party’ of Canada, under the leadership of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He is often regarded as a Conservative and a monarchist in the truest sense, and the policies of his administration reflect that.