February 1st, 2026 | Grant Johnson

Stephen Harper Needs To Come Back

He could offer the only path to victory.

Canada tends to follow the United States politically, only much later.

Let’s go back to the early 80s. Ronald Reagan (and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher) brought in a new wave of neo-conservatism just as old school liberal-left socialism had run its course as a political and cultural powerhouse. A tidal wave of optimism and prosperity began in 1979/80 that led the Western world for the next 20 years.

Now it wasn’t perfect, and in hindsight, we can see the deficits, both figuratively and literally, but it was a pivot point in history that changed politics and world history.

Canada? We re-elected Communist comic-book villain Pierre Trudeau for a fourth term and he set about devastating Canada so severely that it took 20 years to recover. It wasn’t until well into 1984 that Canadians joined the rest of the civilized world and voted for Brian Mulroney and his Tory cuck party that at least imitated the Reagan revolution in spirit, if not in execution. 

The PC (Progressive Conservative) party ruled until 1993.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the Reagan revolution was running out of steam, and baby boomers were looking for new, fresh energy. Along came saxophone-playing Bill Clinton and the “new” Democrats. These Democrats were the precursors of the Woke wave that evolved later, but back then, they were hip and cool, but also pragmatic and neo-conservative.

A year later, Canadians voted Liberal with the same agenda.

In 2000, Americans voted for George W. Bush and the new Republican Party. In Canada, we had to wait until 2006 to get our version in the form of Stephen Harper and the new Conservative Party.

Obama came along with Woke in 2008, and it took even longer this time for Justin Trudeau to show up as Canada’s version in 2015. 

Trump happened, and the pattern seems to have worn off…or has it?

Trump “lost” in 2020 and was replaced by Biden, a placeholder, an empty suit. 

In 2024, Justin Trudeau stepped down and was replaced by Carney… a placeholder… an empty suit. 

In 2024, Trump came back and won a landslide for a second, non-consecutive term. This time around, Trump is seasoned, experienced, and hardcore. He knows what he’s up against, and it has made him stronger than ever. Stronger than before.

Pierre Poilievre is not destined to be Prime Minister. He’s a poindexter. He’s a Ben Shapiro version of Preston Manning. He might believe the right stuff… inasmuch as he believes in anything, but he’s not cut out for the job. 

He also doesn’t fit the narrative of Canada following the U.S. in political lockstep.

So who does?

Stephen Harper.

Stephen Harper needs to come back

I remember when Harper won his first and only majority government. He was at Heritage Park in Calgary, I believe, and he was giving a speech, a victory lap… in which he would brag about winning a “Strong, Stable, Majority, Conservative government”! 

Some staffers at the time looked glum. When questioned as to why, they responded that Canada was still a left-wing country with a left-wing culture and a left-wing (and hostile) infrastructure. Nothing would change, and nothing could be done.

They were right.

Harper squandered his 4 and a half years as Prime Minister by obsessively trying to eliminate the deficit and learning step-by-step that conservative principles applied to a country that wants socialism aren’t actually as effective as they seem on paper.

Jason Kenney on the radio recently talked about how the Conservatives signed free trade agreement after free trade agreement, and then nothing really happened. Harper lowered the corporate tax rate to its lowest level of all time…expecting Canadian businesses to boom and corporations from around the globe to relocate. Wrong again. They mistakenly thought they could win over immigrants with “conservative principles,” but the political pull of big government socialism proved much more attractive to people without a history of WASP values.

Harper made Boomer mistake after Boomer mistake.

Then he lost to a drama teacher with nice hair and funny socks. All that work whittling down the deficit was simply creating a runway for Justin Trudeau to have a big Woke party with no strings attached.

Now Harper is in the wilderness of semi-retirement, writing books about flags in Canadian history. 

What happens next?

Mark Carney is obviously going to fail hard. The Elbows Up crowd is still cheerleading for him and Canadians think he’s some kind of antidote to Trump because the tv tells them so, but reality eventually shows up. It’s not going to go well for Carney or us in the long run, and when the tide turns on him, it will likely turn harder than it did even for Trudeau.

But what will be the alternative? Poilevre had his chance and lost and deep down we know he doesn’t have what it takes. So who else could the Conservative Party elect as leader at this point who would have the gravitas and the experience and the power and the balls and the name recognition and the proven ability to win?

Stephen Harper 2.0

If Stephen Harper returned to public life and brought with him a new team, designed to take on the federal government and everything with it, then the Conservative Party could achieve what it failed to do in 2011…create transformative change.

No more incrementalism. No more “the longer I’m Prime Minister” attitudes. No more failing to defund the CBC or rebuild the military. No more excuses. No more bullshit.

A muscular, seasoned, hardcore conservative movement that revitalizes a dying nation.

Led by Harper.

He’s too old: He’s 66 years old. He’s the same age as Jean Chrétien was when the Liberals won a majority in 2000. When Trump was 66 years old, he was still hosting The Apprentice on television! Harper seems to be in good health, and his mind is sharp, and he seems more modest, reserved, and calm than ever before.

He’s been out of politics too long: He’s kept in touch, if out of the public eye. He’s the elder statesman of the Conservative Party. He’s also the chairman of the International Democracy Union, which must have massive connections to the right-wing sphere of the world. I would hope it’s not just some Davos crap. Here’s what Wiki says…

“According to a 1985 CIA memo, the Republican Party and the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan had provided half of all funding for the organization at the time.[15] Several leaders of member parties had gained political power with help from Arthur J. Finkelstein, such as Viktor Orbán,[16] Benjamin Netanyahu[16][17] and Donald Trump.[18] The IDU shares resources with its members on "campaign technology, fund-raising techniques, opinion polling, advertising and campaign organization".[19] The Conservative Party of Canada and the Republican Party had closely collaborated on resources and strategy during the 2000s and 2010s.[19]”

This infrastructure can’t be put to use? C’mon. Of course it can. Go win.

He doesn’t really want it: Harper has always been quietly ambitious. Guys like this are hardwired to achieve. He hasn’t retired. He mentioned on a recent podcast that he’s “in finance,” and as mentioned above, he’s doing IDU chairing. He’s publishing books. This isn’t a guy ready to sit in a rocking chair. 

If Pierre doesn’t get good fast, then the Conservative Party is going to be on the hunt for a guy who can go toe-to-toe with both Carney and Trump. Recently, Harper made waves when he posted about current events related to US/Canada relations. Maybe behind the scenes, things are brewing, if they aren’t… they should be.

It’s time for Harper to come back and reforge the Conservative Party into a fighting force for the 21st century. Not cuckservative. Not Red Tory. Not warmed up Reform. Not podcast bro nonsense. 

We need a new Conservative Party. We need a new Canada. 

We need Stephen Harper.