Stephen Harper Quotes & Sayings

But I've been very clear in this campaign - I don't believe the party should have a position on abortion. — Stephen Harper

I know economists will say well, we could run a small deficit but the problem is that once you cross that line as we see in the United States, nothing stops deficits from getting larger and larger and spiralling out of control. — Stephen Harper

Corruption is not a Canadian value! — Stephen Harper

In terms of the unemployed, of which we have over a million-and-a-half, don't feel particularly bad for many of these people. They don't feel bad about it themselves, as long as they're receiving generous social assistance and unemployment insurance. — Stephen Harper

Canada remains alienated from its allies, shut out of the reconstruction process to some degree, unable to influence events. There is no upside to the position Canada took. — Stephen Harper

Human rights commissions, as they are evolving, are an attack on our fundamental freedoms and the basic existence of a democratic society ... It is in fact totalitarianism. I find this is very scary stuff. — Stephen Harper

We got into a recession because the global economy went into the recession and we're a big exporting nation. — Stephen Harper

I think it's a typical hidden agenda of the Liberal party ... They had the courts do it for them, they put the judges in they wanted, then they failed to appeal
failed to fight the case in court ... I think the federal government deliberately lost this case in court and got the change to the law done through the back door. — Stephen Harper

It was the removing of a regime that was hostile, that clearly had the intention of constructing weapons systems. — Stephen Harper

There is a dependence in the region that breeds a culture of defeatism, — Stephen Harper

I think in Atlantic Canada, because of what happened in the decades following Confederation, there is a culture of defeat that we have to overcome. — Stephen Harper

My own views on abortion, I'm not on either pole of that and neither of the interest groups on either end of this issue would probably be comfortable with my views. — Stephen Harper

Evil comes in many forms and seems to reinvent itself time and again. But whatever it calls itself - Nazism, Marxist-Leninism, today, terrorism - they all have one thing in common: the destruction, the end of human liberty. — Stephen Harper

I have no difficulty with the recognition of civil unions for non-traditional relationships but I believe in law we should protect the traditional definition of marriage. — Stephen Harper

Canada appears content to become a second-tier socialistic country, boasting ever more loudly about its economy and social services to mask its second-rate status ... — Stephen Harper

We've got to see a state where the Afghan government can handle its own day-to-day security. — Stephen Harper

It's the government's obligation to look really to the third parties to get the support to govern. — Stephen Harper

The Liberals may blather about protecting cultural minorities, but the fact is that undermining the traditional definition of marriage is an assault on multiculturalism and the practices in those communities. — Stephen Harper

I will strive to make this not the highest-spending country in the world, but instead the lowest taxing o-ne. — Stephen Harper

Now 'pay equity' has everything to do with pay and nothing to do with equity. It's based on the vague notion of 'equal pay for work of equal value,' which is not the same as equal pay for the same job. — Stephen Harper

I believe that all taxes are bad. — Stephen Harper

Faith teaches that there is a right and wrong beyond mere opinion or desire. Most importantly, it teaches us that freedom is not an end in itself, that how freedom is exercised matters as much as freedom itself — Stephen Harper

If you want to diminish the number of abortions, you've got to change hearts and not laws. — Stephen Harper

You have to remember that west of Winnipeg the ridings the Liberals hold are dominated by people who are either recent Asian immigrants or recent migrants from eastern Canada; people who live in ghettos and are not integrated into Western Canadian society. — Stephen Harper

After all, enforced national bilingualism in this country isn't mere policy. It has attained the status of a religion. It's a dogma which one is supposed to accept without question. — Stephen Harper

As I constantly remind Canadians, there isnt really a Canadian economy anymore. It is a global economy. — Stephen Harper

It's the idea that we just have to go along, we can't change it, things won't change. I think that's the sad part, the sad reality traditional parties have bred in parts of Atlantic Canada. — Stephen Harper

We want to see oil and gas regulations on a continental basis given the integrated nature of this industry, with the current conditions in the oil and gas sector, this government will not consider unilateral regulation. — Stephen Harper

Buying pollution credits is folly; it doesn't help the environment. Instead of using tax dollars to buy credits overseas, we'll use them at home. — Stephen Harper

Paul Martin talks eloquently about defending national sovereignty but the reality hasn't matched the rhetoric. When it comes to the United States, Mr. Martin says he calls them as he sees them, but when it comes to American passage through Canada, he doesn't actually see anything. — Stephen Harper

First of all, I can't forget my first responsibility - which is to be the Leader of the Opposition and that's to provide an alternative government. — Stephen Harper

The job numbers are positive. We've had more jobs created now than were lost during the recession. We're seeing that the creation, we're seeing those numbers not only grow but shift toward the private sector and shift toward full-time employment and these are all signs that the recovery is taking some hold but we're not out of woods. — Stephen Harper

Canada is a vast and empty country. — Stephen Harper

Those of different faiths and no faith should seek areas of common agreement based on their different perspectives. — Stephen Harper

If we are willing to be still and open enough to listen, wilderness itself will teach us. — Stephen Harper

The time has come to recognize that the U.S. will continue to exercise unprecedented power in a world where international rules are still unreliable and where security and advancing of the free democratic order still depend significantly on the possession and use of military might. — Stephen Harper

As a religion, bilingualism is the god that failed. It has led to no fairness, produced no unity, and cost Canadian taxpayers untold millions. — Stephen Harper

There's unfortunately a view of too many people in Atlantic Canada that it's only through government favours that there's going to be economic progress, or that's what you look to That kind of can't-do attitude is a problem in this country but it's obviously more serious in regions that have had have-not status for a long time. — Stephen Harper

That's my personal view I would say most in my caucus agree with that but there are some who don't and I've always said that on these kinds of moral issues, people have the right to their own opinions. — Stephen Harper

It's not sufficient in the internet age to communicate through the media; you have to be able to do it on the ground, door by door, coffee shop by coffee shop, shop floor by shop floor. You really have to do that as well. — Stephen Harper

We're not going to scrap the budget and make up some totally new platform the day after the election. So it's certainly willingness to compromise but we're not going back on the fundamental things we're running on in this campaign. — Stephen Harper

But I'm very libertarian in the sense that I believe in small government and, as a general rule, I don't believe in imposing values upon people. — Stephen Harper

Canada receives the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden with sober satisfaction. Sadly, others will take his place. — Stephen Harper

I don't know if for sure in absolute terms if Jim Flaherty is the best Finance Minster in the world, but I am sure that he is the best Finance Minster per inch in the world. — Stephen Harper

Canada is in budgetary deficit now only because of the recession, only because of stimulus measures, and we will come out of it. We will go back into surplus position when the economy recovers. So there is no need in Canada to raise taxes. — Stephen Harper

I think what everybody believes and agrees with, and to be frank myself, is that the current approach [to the drug trade] is not working, but it is not clear what we should do. — Stephen Harper

It is inherently dangerous to allow a country such as Iraq to retain weapons of mass destruction, particularly in light of its past aggressive behaviour. If the world community fails to disarm Iraq, we fear that other rogue states will be encouraged to believe that they too can have these most deadly of weapons to systematically defy international resolutions and that the world will do nothing to stop them. — Stephen Harper

Whether Canada ends up with one national government or two governments or 10 governments, the Canadian people will require less government no matter what the constitutional status or arrangement of any future country may be. — Stephen Harper

I do think that all economies need a sense of fiscal discipline especially over the midterm and if you are in the middle of a debt crisis you can't borrow your way out of a debt crisis. That's logically impossible. — Stephen Harper

Withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan ... Collect our own revenue from personal income tax ... Resume provincial responsibility for health-care policy. If Ottawa objects to provincial policy, fight in the courts ... [E]ach province should raise its own revenue for health ... It is imperative to take the initiative, to build firewalls around Alberta ... — Stephen Harper

What we clearly need is experimentation with market reforms and private delivery options [in health care]. — Stephen Harper

We also support the exploration of alternative ways to deliver health care. Moving toward alternatives, including those provided by the private sector, is a natural development of our health care system. — Stephen Harper

A transition is taking place in Egypt. In my judgement, there is no going back. I think the old expression, They're not going to put the toothpaste back in the tube on this one. — Stephen Harper

On the justification for the war, it wasn't related to finding any particular weapon of mass destruction. — Stephen Harper

I don't believe an Alliance government should sponsor legislation on abortion or a referendum on abortion. — Stephen Harper

Having hit a wall, the next logical step is not to bang our heads against it. — Stephen Harper

I don't get into that second guessing of myself publicly. — Stephen Harper

Whether Canada ends up as o-ne national government or two national governments or several national governments, or some other kind of arrangement is, quite frankly, secondary in my opinion. — Stephen Harper

I'm not trying to be diplomatic. I'm trying to be more nuanced and realistic. I think there has to be a serious examination of the shortcomings of the Euro structure. Euro central institutions, whether it be fiscal policy, monetary policy, financial regulation, are simply not as robust as they are in a currency that has a national government behind it. — Stephen Harper

We'll support the government on issues if it's essential to the country but our primary responsibility is not to prop up the government, our responsibility is to provide an opposition and an alternative government for Parliament and for Canadians. — Stephen Harper

We have in this country a federal government that increasingly is engaged in trying to determine which business, which regions, which industries will succeed, which will not through a whole range of economic development, regional development corporate subsidization programs. — Stephen Harper

Everybody makes money when times are good. It's when times are not so good that the groundwork is laid for the next generation. — Stephen Harper

It was probably not an appropriate term, but we support the war effort and believe we should be supporting our troops and our allies and be there with them doing everything necessary to win. — Stephen Harper

Canada is big enough to make a difference but not big enough to threaten anybody. And that is a huge asset if it's properly used. — Stephen Harper

The media is tremendously important for all governments that are able to communicate through the it. It doesn't mean there is a balance of editorial opinion that favors what you are doing or that the opposition doesn't have its voice, but you have to be able to effectively communicate your story through the media. — Stephen Harper

You don't defend national sovereignty with flags, cheap election rhetoric, and advertising campaigns. — Stephen Harper

I intend to lead my party, which is the only party that has a serious policy on the No. 1 priority of the people and that is the economy. — Stephen Harper

I do not intend to dispute in any way the need for defence cuts and the need for government spending cuts in general. I do not share a not in my backyard approach to government spending reductions. — Stephen Harper

I just think it would be unrealistic to suggest we're going to eliminate every last domestic insurgent in Afghanistan. Certainly, the history of the country would indicate that's not a very realistic objective, and I think we have to have realistic objectives. — Stephen Harper

I think I have been perfectly clear in saying that I hope Canadians do elect a majority government. I think this cycle of election after election, minority after minority is beginning to put some of the country's interests in serious jeopardy. — Stephen Harper

I believe very strongly that in this world you have to have values and you have to stand up for your interests and if you don't do those things you're not going to get anywhere. — Stephen Harper

I forget what the relevant American rate is, but I can tell you that our goal is to have a combined federal-provincial corporate tax rate of no more than 25 percent. We're on target to do that by 2012. We will have significantly - by a significant margin the lowest corporate tax rates in the G-7, and that's our - our government's objective. — Stephen Harper

I think the way to change it is to handle issues individually when it's essential to do so. — Stephen Harper

I think people should elect a cat person. If you elect a dog person, you elect someone who wants to be loved. If you elect a cat person, you elect someone who wants to serve. — Stephen Harper

Carbon dioxide does not cause or contribute to smog, and the Kyoto treaty would do nothing to reduce or prevent smog. — Stephen Harper

Even if people are suspicious of the motives I think that learning and speaking two languages can only be a good thing for people. — Stephen Harper

For taxpayers, however, it's [pay equity] a rip-off. And it has nothing to do with gender. Both men and women taxpayers will pay additional money to both men and women in the civil service. That's why the federal government should scrap its ridiculous pay equity law. — Stephen Harper

It will come as no surprise to anybody to know that I support the traditional definition of marriage as a union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, as expressed in our traditional common law. — Stephen Harper

Our relationship with nature is more one of being than having. We are nature: we do not have nature. — Stephen Harper

The government can only be brought down because it alienates several parties in the House. — Stephen Harper

I think first and foremost everybody should understand that Canadians are strongly committed to the system of universal health insurance, to the principle that your ability to pay does not determine your access to critical medical service. — Stephen Harper

Gay and Lesbian Canadians are entitled to equal treatment under law and are part of Canada's diversity. — Stephen Harper

The Liberals, apparently, want to prorogue the House. They want to run out of town, get out of town just one step ahead of the sheriff. Is the Liberal government committed to staying here as planned throughout the month of November so that it can be held accountable in the House for its actions? ... Now is it true that the government will prorogue the House so that it will not be held accountable for its shameful record — Stephen Harper

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the picture of the hon. member of the NDP [Svend Robinson] is posted in much more wonderful places than just police stations. — Stephen Harper

The continued increase in many crime indicators and the fact that the overall crime rate has not seen a marked decrease while the Liberals have been in power is a clear indication that the Liberal approach to combating crime, as on so many other issues, has failed. — Stephen Harper

There is no greater fraud than a promise not kept. — Stephen Harper

What the government has to do, if it wants to govern for any length of time, is it must appeal primarily to the third parties in the House of Commons to get them to support it. — Stephen Harper

It [the Iraq invasion] was absolutely an error. It's obviously clear the evaluation of weapons of mass destruction proved not to be correct. That's absolutely true and that's why we're not sending anybody to Iraq. — Stephen Harper

This party will not take its position based on public opinion polls. We will not take a stand based on focus groups. We will not take a stand based on phone-in shows or householder surveys or any other vagaries of pubic opinion. — Stephen Harper

We should have been there shoulder to shoulder with our allies. Our concern is the instability of our government as an ally. We are playing again with national and global security matters. — Stephen Harper

I don't know all the facts on Iraq, but I think we should work closely with the Americans. — Stephen Harper

There's going to be a new code on Parliament Hill: bend the rules, you will be punished; break the law, you will be charged; abuse the public trust, you will go to prison, — Stephen Harper

Universality has been severely reduced: it is virtually dead as a concept in most areas of public policy. — Stephen Harper

The single most important duty of the federal government is to protect and defend our national sovereignty. There are new and disturbing reports of American nuclear submarines passing though Canadian waters without obtaining the permission of, or even notifying, the Canadian government. — Stephen Harper

Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it — Stephen Harper

Canadians know that the promise of a recession didn't happen because of anything we did here. If you look at all the causes of the recession, problems in mortgage markets, the problems in the banking sector, the problems in government finance in countries like Greece, none of those problems were in present Canada. — Stephen Harper

Don't indulge your theories, think of your children and listen to the experts. — Stephen Harper

Restoring accountability will be one of the major priorities of our new government. Accountability is what ordinary Canadians, working Canadians, those people who pay their bills, pay their taxes, expect from their political leaders. — Stephen Harper

Look, I think the worst case scenario is obvious. I think first of all it doesn't work for very long. It's an unstable government that raises taxes and destroys the image we're building for Canada as a strong place to invest. — Stephen Harper

America, and particularly your conservative movement, is a light and an inspiration to people in this country and across the world, — Stephen Harper