Harper stepping down as party leader

[oneh2obabe]

Stephen Harper is stepping down as leader of the Conservative Party after losing the federal election.

As many Conservatives wrestled with a heartbreaking loss, Harper stepped down as party leader, said Conservative Party national president John Walsh.

"I have spoken to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and he has instructed me to reach out to the newly elected parliamentary caucus to appoint an Interim Leader and to the National Council to implement the leadership selection process pursuant to the Conservative Party of Canada constitution."

The Liberal Party is projected to form a majority government after a red tide swept key ridings in the GTA, Quebec and the East Coast.

The Liberal’s success comes largely on the back of the NDP, defeating many incumbents such as Peggy Nash and Paul Dewer.

“Friends, from the very outset this election has been about change and tonight Canadians have turned the page on 10 long years and they reject the politics of fear and division,” Mulcair said at his rally.

http://www.thestar.com/news/federal-ele ... sults.html

[JLives]

While I am glad to see him moving out of office I'm not going to say anything bad about him. I'm not going to say anything good either though. See you later Steven, onward and upward. I'm looking forward to our country's future.

[maryjane48]

power corrupts , the important part is to what degree .

[Bpeep]

I actually liked Harper, yet I voted against him.
He epitomizes what a leader should be, intelligent, well spoken, politically savvy, astute, etc.
I just didn't like his ideals or the arrogance he developed in his tenure as pm.
II think Harper lost this election more than the Liberals won.

[JLives]

I actually liked Harper, yet I voted against him.
He epitomizes what a leader should be, intelligent, well spoken, politically savvy, astute, etc.
I just didn't like his ideals or the arrogance he developed in his tenure as pm.
II think Harper lost this election more than the Liberals won.

I'm feeling a real sense of reclaiming our identity going on in this election.

[Bpeep]

To me, he was just becoming the Canadian equivalent of the usa republicans.
And it's too bad, the PC's had a great chance if they addressed Harper and his omnipotence.
It's the beginning of a new era in Canadian politics.
Like it or not, it had to happen. The PC's will be back.

[The Green Barbarian]

While I am glad to see him moving out of office I'm not going to say anything bad about him. I'm not going to say anything good either though. See you later Steven, onward and upward. I'm looking forward to our country's future.

Good to hear people, especially those who are usually negative, speak positively again about the outlook going forward for Canada. That in and of itself is a sign that it was time for a change.

[squirt10]

Well ,Mr. Stephen Harper now has more time from invitations from NY corporate /republican boardrooms. Spent lot of time as or PM. source: NY times . I welcome our new" Steve" to our riding.

[OREZ]

I can't honestly say that I ever liked the guy or what he stood for. He turned me off from day one and most of what he did as PM only confirmed my feelings about him, in fact, I think he surpassed my misgivings in that regard.

I don't think that he, as a leader, or that kind of politics is what Canada and most Canadians are comfortable with. Let's keep in mind, he only had one term as a majority leader (and this was while the Liberals were going through a major overhaul) and his actions and personal style during that term is when the real Harper came out and is what earned him the results we saw yesterday. And on top of that, to run deficits too? Forget it, we're far better off without him.

Although the country now has a LOT of work to do, he and all the Con MP's who were tossed out are on easy street. Good riddance.

[OREZ]

To me, he was just becoming the Canadian equivalent of the usa republicans.
And it's too bad, the PC's had a great chance if they addressed Harper and his omnipotence.
It's the beginning of a new era in Canadian politics.
Like it or not, it had to happen. The PC's will be back.

I'm curious, can you please explain this?

Do you think that the Progressive Conservative Party will actually be revived as a political entity or just the things they stood for under the banner of the Conservative Party Of Canada? To me, The Cons we have now (Conservative Reform Alliance Party) are quite different from the PCs of old.

[Sneaksuit]

*bleep*!!!

[Glacier]

I'm curious, can you please explain this?

Do you think that the Progressive Conservative Party will actually be revived as a political entity or just the things they stood for under the banner of the Conservative Party Of Canada? To me, The Cons we have now (Conservative Reform Alliance Party) are quite different from the PCs of old.

PCs are known as Liberals today (just like BC Liberals are actually Conservatives/Social Credit). There's really no difference on the left-right spectrum between Chretien and Brian Mulroney as far as I can tell, though that could be because I'm missing the details since Mulroney was before my time of being politically aware.

[OREZ]

PCs are known as Liberals today (just like BC Liberals are actually Conservatives/Social Credit). There's really no difference on the left-right spectrum between Chretien and Brian Mulroney

Well, if that were true we would have never had anything but Liberal Governments since the Reform Party took over the PCs.

[Merry]

A favoured comment on social media was that this was the most important election in Canadian history, or, in the very least, the most important since the Second World War. (Debating tip: whenever you want to make a simple statement sound profound, add “since the Second World War.”)

Except that … it’s not. That title would go to the ballot battle of 1988, in which Canadians decided it would be OK to dismantle factories wholesale and ship them to China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Thailand and anywhere else where sweatshops could ensure cheap widgets being sent to North American store shelves.

History knows it as the Free Trade Election. People who foresaw the disaster that free trade would bring likely remember it as the “I hate Mulroney” election.

Hard as it might be for some Harper-haters to believe, there once was a Tory prime minister who was equally loathsome and loathed. Brian Mulroney won a second majority in the 1988 election. Within five years, he was so despised that his party was destroyed and reduced to a mere two seats in the 1993 election. You could look it up.

So, when people throw around statements that Harper must be stopped, he’s ruining the country, Canada just isn’t the same … well, he was beaten to it by two decades by The Jaw That Walks Like a Man, as one scribbler dubbed the square-chinned Mulroney.

Mulroney set the course. Harper is merely the latest captain of the sorry ship of state. Liberal prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin continued Mulroney’s legacy of right-wing policies (“Oh look!” said Paul. “Billions for the taking in the UI fund.”)

People who favour so-called strategic voting to rid the land of Harper should be under no illusions. The Liberals, when in power, have been every bit as conservative as the Conservatives.

http://www.thetelegram.com/Opinion/Colu ... ll-sides/1

[The Green Barbarian]

People who favour so-called strategic voting to rid the land of Harper should be under no illusions. The Liberals, when in power, have been every bit as conservative as the Conservatives.

Amen!!!

Wow those NDP grapes sure taste sour.