Harper reportedly writing book on populism, conservatism

Could be published this year, sources say

OTTAWA • Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper is writing a book, several sources have told the National Post.

The book will focus on populism and the future of the conservative movement, according to multiple people with knowledge of the project. It is expected to grapple with the question of how to handle right-wing populism and take it seriously.

Sources suggested the book was already in the hands of a publisher and would be published this year. But a spokeswoman for Harper, Anna Tomala, said she could not confirm that, saying: “there are discussions with a number of publishers about a variety of topics that are presently being explored with Mr. Harper.”

Harper, prime minister from 2006 until 2015, earned his political stripes in the Reform Party, a populist force born in western Canada in the late 1980s and becoming a major disruptor in federal politics by the '90s. He was a strategist and MP for that party before going on to consolidate Canada’s conservative movement under a “big blue tent,” the newly-minted Conservative Party, in 2004.

Whatever wisdom Harper can espouse will emerge as Western democracies continue to see the proliferation of populist movements.

It was during an appearance in Ottawa before the 2016 election that former U.S. president Barack Obama quibbled with modern definitions of “populism,” suggesting in a thinlyveiled criticism of then-Republican candidate Donald Trump that people were using the word indiscriminately.

“They don’t suddenly become a populist because they say something controversial in order to win votes. That’s not the measure of populism. That’s nativism, or xenophobia. Or worse. Or it’s just cynicism,” he had said.

Nonetheless, the word “populism” is what many modern leaders — including Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — have seized upon to describe popular movements such as the rise of now-President Trump and Brexit, the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union. It is the concept of “populism” that Trudeau has said he is fighting against by promoting international trade and multilateralism.

Although Harper has rarely spoken publicly since his defeat in 2015, he has occasionally made his views known.

In a New York Times fullpage ad this week, Harper and other former politicians praised Trump for his decision to exit a nuclear deal with Iran. “Mr. President, you are right about Iran,” said the ad, also signed by former foreign minister John Baird. The current government disagrees, with Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland saying she supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran and regretted Trump’s decision.

In addition to running his consulting company Harper & Associates out of the Calgary office of Dentons law firm, Harper took on the chairmanship of the International Democrat Union this February — an international alliance that states as its goal “to promote democracy and centre-right policies around the globe.” Members include the U.S. Republican Party and the U.K. Conservative Party, among others.

Harper is already a published author. In November 2013, while he was prime minister, he published a book about hockey called A Great Game.