Canada’s 22nd Prime Minister – Stephen Harper

~ Amusives

We may live in an information age, but so much of what we read is one sided, poorly researched media crap that reinforces feelings of hatred, racism, and fear. Perilous mountains get built out of insignificant molehills. No where is this more true than stories about politicians.

One small example: a year and a half ago, Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper showed up in Calgary for the Calgary Stampede. He made the remark that Calgary is “the greatest city in the greatest country in the world!” His offhand comment raised a bit of a stink with the media who tried to stir the pot of regional jealousy. Really folks. Stephen Harper went to the University of Calgary. His home is in Calgary. He has been a Member of Parliament in Calgary since 1993. Is there some reason why he can’t declare he likes Calgary best?

Yes, he is the Prime Minister, but he has not let fame control his life. Over the Christmas holiday, my son-in-law spotted Mr. Harper in the local Pizza and Steakhouse. Our Prime Minister was sitting at a table by himself, waiting for food or friends to arrive. Yes, his security people were at the door, but that was it. The patrons of Matador Pizza and Steakhouse came and went as usual.

Of course, there are a few perks to being the Prime Minister. In October 2010, Harper was taped for a cameo appearance in an episode of the television show Murdoch Mysteries.  (Murdoch Mysteries is a Canadian production set in Toronto in the late 1800’s.) Mr. Harper played the character of Desk Sergeant Armstrong, a seemingly imperceptive man who doesn’t recognize Canada’s seventh Prime Minister, Wilfrid Laurier when he walks into Station 4. The Desk Sergeant is then chastised by Constable Crabtree who says, “That’s called a newspaper, Armstong. Try reading one.”  Here is the video of the Prime Minister’s visit to the Murdoch set:

Stephen Harper’s visit to Matadors doesn’t seem to have made the news, though the owner of the establishment did post the sighting on Facebook. To me, this is a good news story – the Prime Minister of Canada can stop at the local Pizza joint and it just isn’t a big deal. Yet, it is a big deal, because it is a story about what is right about Canada and how Canadians treat one another.

In a world darkened by ethnic conflicts that tear nations apart, Canada stands as a model of how people of different cultures can live and work together in peace, prosperity, and mutual respect.
– Bill Clinton

What is a Canadian? A Canadian is a fellow wearing English tweeds, a Hong Kong shirt and Spanish shoes, who sips Brazilian coffee sweetened with Philippine sugar from a Bavarian cup while nibbling Swiss cheese, sitting at a Danish desk over a Persian rug, after coming home in a German car from an Italian movie… and then writes his Member of Parliament with a Japanese ballpoint pen on French paper, demanding that he do something about foreigners taking away our Canadian jobs.
– Anonymous

15 thoughts on “Canada’s 22nd Prime Minister – Stephen Harper”

    1. It has been said that Prime Minister Harper’s legacy will be a list of all the Government programs he has eliminated like the Long Gun Registry and National Child Care, or reduced like the GST, EI entitlements and business and personal income taxes. I expect he will tackle the Senate too.

      Personally, I support any government that puts money back in my wallet and tells me that it is up to me, my community and my Province to decide how we want to govern ourselves.

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  2. My father was in local/regional politics (here in southern Ontario) when I was a teenager. I was always stumped when people would express their ‘awe’ of the fact that the mayor and the deputy reeve (sort of a ‘junior mayor’ position) would come over to our house to play pool. They were all just people to me. Good for PM Harper for hanging out in the local pizza shop. We Canadians are a fairly easy going bunch, aren’t we?

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    1. That is a good point, Margo. The Mayor of a town or the Prime Minister of a country should have the right to a normal, private life just like the rest of us do.

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    1. Yes, that quote pretty much sums up the international access to goods that most of us have, regardless of what country we live in.

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  4. I am not much into politics as it makes my brain hurt, but I can say that the couple of times I visited Canada (BC and Alberta) I found the people to be so kind, respectful, helpful and happy. The Canadian camping parks were so clean and beautiful and they provided free firewood to us! See, I do not discuss politics.

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