Canada’s 22nd Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Stephen J. Harper, took office as PM exactly 20-years-ago today. Along the road to 24 Sussex, he skillfully repaired the split between the Reform Party (and her successor parties) and the old Progressive Conservative party and this paved the way for his 2006 victory.
You can watch a video of the new government’s swearing-in at this link: https://www.c-span.org/program/international-telecasts/canadian-prime-minister-swearing-in-ceremony/154300
You will also find a transcript of Mr. Harper’s his first speech as Prime Minister, delivered outside Rideau Hall, below.
Prime Minister Harper: It is a great honour and it's a feeling of enormous responsibility to be sworn in as the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada.
The peaceful transition of government is a blessing of democracy, something to be undertaken with gratitude to the thousands of Canadians who gave their lives in its defence. And with this transition, it is time to begin a new chapter for Canada.
On January 23rd, Canadians voted for change, and today I am pleased to present the team that will drive that change. Our team is talented and diverse, reflecting all of Canada. They will work hard for all of us.
I've assembled a smaller Cabinet. One that, I believe, will be more focused and effective, and I wish to thank Mr. Derek Burney and his team for the work they have done in the past period on our transition.
As a government, our mission is clear. We will build on the shared achievements of Canadians - past and present - to keep our country strong, united, independent and free. We will improve Canadians' faith in public institutions by making government more accountable and effective. We will create opportunity by rewarding hard work and innovation. We will improve the quality of life in our communities by supporting our seniors, our families and our children. And we will strengthen Canada by defending the safety of our streets, our national interests, and the unity of our country. Shortly after this event, we will hold our first Cabinet meeting.
We know that governing in a minority is not going to be easy. But we have our legislative and governmental priorities. And we will work with others to find shared goals and common ideas.
Our first priority will be to clean up government. And we will move quickly to enact and implement the Federal Accountability Act.
Canadian workers need a real tax break, one that they can count on. That's why we will reduce taxes, starting with the GST.
The growing plague of guns, gangs and drugs in our cities and communities is not acceptable. We will introduce comprehensive reforms to our justice system that will protect Canadians and our communities.
Raising children in 2006 is not easy. That's why we will move forward to expand choice in child care by directly assisting parents financially and creating more daycare spaces.
Finally, Canadians have paid for quality health care. They deserve care that's there when they need it through a patient wait times guarantee. We will work with the provinces to put a health care guarantee in place and to address the issue of fiscal imbalance.
It is our intention to work to keep the commitments we made to Canadians. There are many areas of convergence between our platform and those of other parties. We will work to bring the parties together. That's what Canadians want, and that's what this government wants ...
It is now time for Canada's new Government to get to work. We're ready. And we look forward to serving.
Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.