PERSPECTIVE | FES CANADA A Conservative Revolution? The State of Canadian Politics in 2010 ANDREW COHEN Fall 2010 The election of Prime Minister Harper in 2006, a conservative ideologue, was unusual for a moderate country like Canada. However, there has been no political revolution in the past five years. Canadians have embraced a change of government more than a change of direction. With a weak mandate and a minority government, voters put the Conservatives on probation in 2006; in the election of 2008; Harper’s Conservatives were denied a majority again. The Prime Minister’s alleged“secret agenda” would have to wait for a governing majority. Instead of pushing an overly radical agenda, the Conservatives have abandoned their commitments to a balanced budget, their hard-line stance on China and free market ideology. But they have lowered taxes, increased government accountability, strengthened the military and shown little interest in peacekeeping – once an icon of Canadian foreign policy. Mr. Harper’s“modus operandi” – a one-man government characterized by obsessive secrecy and occasional overreaching – may explain his failure to win a majority. Canadians seem to have an emotional circuit breaker that prevents them from giving Conservatives a strong mandate. In many, mainly small ways, Mr. Harper has changed the political landscape in Canada and made it more conservative. The government’s future is uncertain, however. After the next election, there is speculation of a progressive coalition between the Liberals and the New Democratic Party.