The Great One dishes out a political assist
Icon to Harper: ‘You’ve been wonderful to the whole country’
OTTAWA— Stephen Harper got an assist from Wayne Gretzky on Friday, hoping that a little of the Great One’s magic will rub off on his election aspirations.
In a chummy session at the Carlu in downtown Toronto, the two men talked about the state of hockey today, the prospects for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the possibility of another NHL franchise for Canada.
And near the end of their 15-minute chat, Harper teased, “We’re in an election campaign here, you may have heard.”
“Oh, really?” Gretzky quipped. “I hadn’t heard that.”
But that gave Harper a chance to ask about leadership. And for Gretzky, it was an opening to deliver a ringing endorsement of the Conservative leader.
“I think you’ve been an unreal prime minister. You’ve been wonderful to the whole country,” Gretzky said, before he was interrupted by the cheers of the partisan crowd, who jumped to their feet applauding.
“Honestly, I wish you nothing but the most success to you and your family. I know you have the country’s best interests at heart.”
But the warm words of support are all that Gretzky can do for the Conservative leader — as a longtime resident of the United States, it is highly unlikely the hockey legend will be allowed to vote in the upcoming election.
That’s because Canadian expatriates who’ve been living abroad for more than five years are barred from casting a ballot.
The law has stirred anger among some of the more than one million Canadians who live outside of the country and can’t vote. But the law was upheld by the courts this summer and earlier on Friday, Harper was making no excuses.
“Obviously, we want to make sure that we have, I think, fair rules to make sure Canadian elections are decided by Canadian residents,” Harper said in Calgary before he made the trip to Toronto.
“I’ve never heard Mr. Gretzky challenge that particular notion,” he said.
It’s not the first time that Gretzky has skated into the political arena. This year, he endorsed Patrick Brown and his bid for the leadership of the provincial Progressive Conservative party, a race that Brown would later win.
Although Harper is certain to welcome the endorsement, just the image of the Conservative leader talking hockey with Gretzky could provide its own boost.
During their chat, Gretzky, who hung up his skates in 1999, said the game has changed “enormously” since he left it, saying the players today are “bigger and better and more talented.”
Asked to handicap the prospects for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Gretzky said the team has hired “great” people for the front office.
“Running a hockey team is like running the country. You’ve got to have good people,” he said.
“I think the Toronto Maple Leafs over the next few years will become the team they should become,” Gretzky said. “I think they’re on the right track.
But he was quick to add that he was off to watch Friday’s ball game.
“Now we’re all Blue Jays fans,” he said.