Free Republic

Success: Away from the low growth and high regulation of an America under Washington's thumb, our northern neighbor is economically strong. As 2011 ends, Canada has announced yet another tax cut — and will soar even more. The Obama administration and its economic czars have flailed about for years, baffled about how to get the U.S. economy growing. In reality, the president need look no further than our neighbor, Canada, whose solid growth is the product of tax cuts, fiscal discipline, free trade, and energy development. That's made Canada a roaring puma nation, while its supposedly more powerful southern neighbor...

When Stephen Harper’s Conservatives finally achieved their long-sought majority victory in the last federal election, many right wing Canadians believed that the long awaited time had finally come when their long list of policies – added or removed – would be addressed. Voters expected swift action on the usual suspects such as the long gun registry and the tightening of immigration. Those with more gumption also thought there would be action like privatizing the CBC or ending the national policy of multiculturalism or official (read: forced) French/English bilingualism. Half a year into his majority, P.M. Harper has started to act....

UNITED NATIONS — Prime Minister Stephen Harper rallied to the side of Israel on Wednesday, saying the best road for peace in the Middle East lies through negotiations between that country and the Palestinians. Harper made his move in a meeting at the United Nations with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Under Harper’s leadership, Canada has been an outspoken supporter of Israel in recent years. And on Wednesday, Harper publicly reinforced that relationship with a critically timed message of support.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, left, announced last week that Canada has imposed "targeted" sanctions on Syria. In a statement last Monday, Harper said his government was responding to the Syrian regime's "ongoing and violent crackdown by the military and security forces against Syrian civilians who are peacefully protesting for democracy and the respect of human rights." The sanctions, as outlined by the government, include: "a travel ban imposed on designated people associated with the current Syrian regime; an asset freeze against people associated with the current Syrian regime and entities involved in security and military operations against the Syrian...

What if I were to tell you that there is a potential Presidential candidate who has shown an ability to win multiple national elections, consistently stands up in international bodies for America's interests and those of our allies, and had the guts to embarrass the Chinese by refusing to come to the monstrous opening Olympic ceremonies in Beijing, the one which made Nazi "artist" Leni Riefenstahl blush? While in office he has supported the war in Afghanistan, and increased military spending in a dangerous and unpredictable world. He cut aid to the Palestinians when Hamas took over the Gaza Strip....

The timing of the budget is also reflective of how urgent it is regarded by the government. It comes on the first day that MPs take their seats for a full day of routine proceedings. The previous week, MPs will elect a Speaker on June 2, then the government’s Throne Speech will be read in the Senate chamber June 3 by the Governor General. Then, on Monday, June 6, as MPs start their new session, Flaherty will drop his latest fiscal update in their lap. Traditionally, the budget is tabled in late afternoon. The opposition parties rejected the March budget...

They aren’t ready to hear this yet, but the anti-poverty activists who work tirelessly to promote the interests of low-income Canadians need to ask why so many of them voted for Stephen Harper last week. They won’t like the answers they get. They won’t understand how food bank users and social housing tenants could think the Prime Minister is on their side. They’ll be tempted to interrupt or object. But their feelings are not the point. There is a serious gap in their knowledge. Left unaddressed, it will trip them up in next fall’s provincial election campaign, the same way...

Some years ago, the columnist and editor Michael Kinsley sponsored a contest to come up with the most boring headline. The winner was “Worthwhile Canadian Initiative.” Well, Canada held an election last Monday, and the result was anything but boring. It amounts to something like a revolution in Canadian politics and has lessons, I think, for those of us south of the border. The headline story is that the Conservative party of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has headed minority governments since 2006, won an absolute majority of seats, 167 of 308, in the House of Commons. It was a...

The nation which Canadian subject (and conservative author, columnist and radio and TV commentator) Mark Steyn calls the "Deranged Dominion" just elected a Conservative Party government may now be about to raise its game to the next level. It should. The fact is that, for sixty-six years, Canada has punched below its weight in world affairs. It was not always so. Winston Churchill, in Britain's darkest hour -- when the UK faced Hitler alone -- told Parliament and the British people that the overseas dominions would come to the aid of the mother country. He meant Canada (which Churchill had...

He isn’t coming in cold, with an enormous backlog of unrealistic ambitions to ram through. Instead, the Tories have a solid idea of what they want to accomplish over the next four years. Having already elected him twice previously, Canadians won’t be looking for sudden miracles. Far from it: such is the level of exhaustion with politics that most Canadians will be delighted if the government just stays out of their face for the majority of the mandate. Harper, in effect, has four years to shepherd through legislation that should come as little surprise to anyone, and he has the...

It's the day after the election. The celebrations have muted, the party supporters have grabbed a few hours sleep, and Canada has risen to a new political landscape. If there is one lesson to be learned from Election 2011, it is this: be careful what you ask for. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives ended five years of minority rule as they achieved the majority victory they have long been asking for. No more pandering to the far left, no more kissing the collective asses of Quebec separatists. Harper repeatedly asked Canadians for a majority, citing the necessity of stability and...

It’s only been five weeks but it seems like years since this election campaign began and I’m sick and tired of it. And, frankly, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. It can’t end soon enough for me. For a political junky to admit this is hard but, really, aren’t there a few words you hope you never have to hear again after Monday? * Majority government: Once upon a time, Stephen Harper wouldn’t let the “m” word pass his lips for fear of scaring voters. But since the first day of this campaign, he’s been dinning “majority”...

Monday’s federal election may well turn out to be historic for all kinds of reasons that were not obvious when it was called five weeks ago today. Unless the pollsters have totally misread the mood of the voters, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives look to be heading for another victory. As we said on Friday, that would be bad for the country. The last thing Canada needs is an affirmation of a government obsessed with control, dismissive of critics, and determined to further diminish the role of the state in charting a better future for the country. Voters who believe that Canada...

To say that the outcome of the current Canadian federal election campaign could have a direct effect on the United States would be an understatement. Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government, Canada's economy has endured the global economic crash with less damage and is recovering faster than any other G8/G20 nation. But all of that could be for naught depending on the election outcome. In a minority situation, the opposition parties have a larger number of combined seats than the sitting government, which makes it a tenuous situation. Harper deserves credit for keeping his party in power as...

Ten days ago, the opposition parties in Canada forced a new election through a no-confidence vote in Parliament in an attempt to gain more seats and more leverage over the Conservative plurality. The election will be held in four weeks, but already it seems that the Liberal Party has miscalculated. In the latest polling, Conservatives led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper have picked up support and may win enough votes to gain a majority government on their own: The Conservatives widened its lead against the opposition Liberals in an opinion poll released on Monday.The Nanos Research tracking poll of results...

On the face of things, it would be difficult to find two countries as different from each other as Canada and Israel. Canada is the second largest country in the world and enjoys a wealth of natural resources, while Israel is short on both resources and space. Canada has been living peacefully with its neighbors and has had friendly relations with most of the international community, while Israel is under threats from many fronts. In Canada, minorities have integrated into a quilt of multiculturalism. In Israel, sectoral tensions are only increasing. Canadians are notorious for their politeness, Israelis for their...

Christmas is just around the corner, so it's time once again to wish only the best (and in some cases, most needed) gifts for the deserving. Here's a few stocking filler ideas for Santa... Ed Stelmach (Alberta premier): a reputation as a leader. Since he's never had that, instructions would need to be included. Julian Assange (Wikileaks poobah): an end to his self-gratifying 15 minutes of fame. And the proper criminal charge of being in possession of stolen documents. And maybe a 350lb moustached cellmate named 'Mary'. Tom Flanagan (political scientist): an end to the idiotic police investigation which has...

It's an odd time we're living in. Canada, the semi-socialist state may have just taken over the U.S as being the biggest supporter of Israel, morally speaking The Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his subordinates have taken a consistently admirable stance when it comes to defending Israel, and recently the prime minister gave a solid speech upping Canada's commitment to the bastion of civilization in the middle east Canadian PM: I Will Defend Israel 'whatever the cost' In the speech he had this to say: "...history shows us, and the ideology of the anti-Israel mob tell us all too well,...

Let us not forget that even in the darkest hours of the Holocaust, men were free to choose good. And some did. That is the eternal witness of the Righteous Among the Nations. And let us not forget that even now, there are those who would choose evil, and would launch another Holocaust, if left unchecked. That is the challenge before us today. Jews today in many parts of the world and many different settings are increasingly subjected to vandalism, threats, slurs, and just plain, old-fashioned lies. Anti-Semitism has gained a place at our universities, where at times it is...

The Arab rejection of the Jewish state has been the main obstacle for peace in the region. Canada is right to give Israel our diplomatic support. Perhaps no foreign-policy file, apart from Canada’s bilateral relationship with the United States, stirs more domestic controversy than Ottawa’s role in the Middle East, particularly under the present stewardship of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Critics view the strong public support Harper and his ministers have given Israel since 2006 as undermining Canada’s long-standing balanced approach to the Israeli-Palestinian/Arab conflict. For Harper’s critics, the troubling reality is that Ottawa has abandoned the constructive role of...