Royce Koop: Stephen Harper's well deserved 'cult following'

From housing prices to national identity, everything was better under the former Conservative prime minister

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By Royce Koop, Special to National Post

Published Feb 01, 2026

Last updated 5 hours ago

4 minute read

Re-printed without permission

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/royce-koop-stephen-harpers-well-deserved-cult-following

My wife was recently scrolling through Instagram and came across a video celebrating Stephen Harper’s time as prime minister, complete with fast-paced editing and Bryan Adams singing “those were the best days of my life” in the background. “So, now Harper has a cult following?” she asked.

Well, why not? On this 20th anniversary of his first election win, let us count the reasons — from housing prices to national identity — why Canadians might be feeling nostalgic for Harper’s time as prime minister.

Under Harper, housing prices rose about 40 per cent from an average of $263,000 in 2006 to $440,000 in 2015 when he left office. Rising prices increased the net worth of homeowners and seniors while still leaving a meaningful part of the market accessible to first time buyers and working-class Canadians. This was helped by bargain-basement interest rates, which ensured most Canadians could still buy a home.

Under Justin Trudeau, in contrast, the average home price rose dramatically, increasing by 62 per cent and reaching $714,000 by 2025. At the same time, interest rates trended upward. As a result, under Trudeau, large parts of Canadian society were completely locked out of the housing market. Policy choices on the part of the Liberal government helped create and aggravate this situation, including a dramatic population increase during and after the pandemic that added major pressure to the housing market.

The housing crisis under Trudeau grew alongside a wider affordability problem which took root after Harper left office. Under Harper, inflation stuck close to the Bank of Canada’s target of two per cent, except during the 2008 recession. His government also cut taxes, which helped to lower cost pressures and keep prices low. Real disposable household income grew under Harper’s leadership.

Under Trudeau, in contrast, inflation climbed to a high of 6.8 per cent in 2022 before coming slightly down. Food inflation has been particularly damaging. After 10 years of Liberal government, Canadians are less able to purchase essential items like groceries.

Harper’s governments showed fiscal discipline. In his early years, he posted significant surpluses. Deficits appeared during and after the global financial crisis but, by 2015, the government had returned to surplus.

Trudeau’s approach was different. Although he promised only small and temporary deficits in the 2015 election campaign, he ran large deficits every year he was in office. This was just as Harper himself had predicted. These deficits continued even outside the pandemic years, when they reached extraordinarily high levels. Despite having a reputation for fiscal conservatism, Mark Carney’s first budget projected an eye-popping deficit of $78.3 billion, higher than any non-pandemic deficit Trudeau ever ran.

Managing the U.S. relationship is a major challenge facing prime ministers. Harper kept smooth and steady relations with George W. Bush and Barack Obama. This did not mean there were no disagreements. Obama, for example, rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, which Harper strongly supported. But Harper did not use unfavourable decisions from the U.S. to score political points at home. This stands in sharp contrast to both Trudeau and Carney.

In foreign policy, Harper was a reliable ally of both the U.S. and Israel, and strongly supported NATO and NORAD. Under his leadership, Canada participated in NATO missions, especially in Afghanistan where the Canadian Armed Forces distinguished Canada by playing a major role in fighting the Taliban. When Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, Harper took a firm stand and famously responded to an outstretched hand from Vladimir Putin by saying, “I guess I’ll shake your hand, but I only have one thing to say to you: you need to get out of Ukraine.”

In office, Harper openly criticized China’s human rights abuses while carefully and cautiously building trade relationships. Trudeau, in contrast, bounded into office full of naïve optimism about China. Chinese foreign interference took root during his time as prime minister, culminating in the imprisonment of the “Two Michaels” from 2018 to 2021. Even with this history, Carney recently travelled to China and described the Chinese regime as a new strategic partner of Canada.

Harper’s government promoted a distinct view of Canadian identity. He emphasized Canada’s military history and the sacrifices made by our soldiers. He also highlighted the importance of the monarchy and northern sovereignty. Harper saw Canada’s vast geography as a source of development and prosperity, and frequently spoke of Canada as an emerging energy superpower.

Trudeau took a different approach, promoting the idea of Canada as a post national state. On this view, Canada has no shared cultural or historical core, and is instead held together by a collection of amorphous liberal values. Far from seeing Canada as an energy superpower, Trudeau argued that the Alberta oilsands should be “phased out.” A recent speech by Carney suggests he largely agrees with Trudeau’s empty view of Canada as a post national state, which also appears in his book Value(s).

Under Harper, home ownership was still possible for people with modest incomes, and life remained largely affordable. His deficits were modest and appropriate. Harper maintained good relations with the United States during difficult times and stood with Canada’s allies, international institutions, and the rule of law abroad. He took firm positions toward Russia and China and promoted a national identity Canadians could identify with and feel proud of.

After a  decade of Liberal rule that has often overturned these achievements, it’s easy to see why Canadians might look back on the Harper years and wonder: can we go back?

Royce Koop is a professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba.