Hockey Dad Harper is a true rink scholar

In 2010, during the Vancouver Olympics, Stephen Harper gave a revealing interview to Sports Illustrated about his upcoming hockey book, a subject he’s been coy about with Canadian reporters. The prime minister said his research into the early days of hockey — from the 1870s until the First World War — shows how important the sport was in our idea of what it meant to be Canadian.

“Although it is rarely overtly political, you definitely see the development of a national consciousness that did not exist before,” he said. “People forget that, in 1867, Canada’s national consciousness was very fragmentary. There was a strong set of regional identities because these had been separate colonies.”

Hockey, Harper says, was “an important part of the development of a uniquely Canadian identity and a uniquely Canadian sense of belonging in a community across the country.”

That remains the case. In a country as diverse and cold as Canada, there is little that draws us together like our individual memories of shinny on frozen ponds and our shared memories of great moments on the ice. Harper the politician is aware of that, and must make of it what he can.

He dodges questions from political reporters, but often finds time for TSN, and loves to hold photo ops in rinks. He wants to be seen as a hockey dad.

In May 2006, after meeting with the then newly elected Harper, Republican consultant Frank Luntz told Conservatives that they ought to take advantage of Canadians’ love of hockey.

“If there is some way to link hockey to what you all do, I would try to do it,” he said.

Harper’s critics dislike Harper’s hockey schtick, and see his book as part of a cynical marketing scheme, but hockey historians tell me he’s a passionate student of the game.

The prime minister is a member of the Society for International Hockey Research. He helped the group erect a memorial to James Creighton, one of the fathers of the game, and has invited several historians to 24 Sussex Dr. to discuss his book and show off his collection of sweaters and hockey books.

The book was first mentioned publicly in 2005, when a friend told The Globe and Mail it was a hobby Harper became more serious about over time.

In 2006, Harper told CBC that he had hoped to finish it by then, but found it hard to put in the time. He described the research as “an escape from the pressures of the job.”

In 2010, a friend told a hockey researcher that Harper had completed a manuscript, but that he was unhappy with parts of it. He had personally hired (and personally paid) a full-time researcher — Greg Stoicoiu, of Calgary. He has made several visits himself to the Hockey Hall of Fame Resource Centre in Toronto to dig through its collection.

In 2011, Harper said the book would be published in 2012 after eight years of working on it for 15 minutes a day.

Amateur hockey historian James Milks, who met with Harper when he published his own book, Pucklore, says Harper knows his stuff.

“It was evident to me, as someone who knows quite a bit more than the average person, that he has a genuine interest in this,” Milks said. “A lot of people figure it was spin to be more Canadian, from a political angle, and maybe there’s a certain amount of that, but he really does enjoy this and really does know what he’s talking about.”

Roy MacGregor, who has written 40 books, including the popular Screech Owl series, has talked with the prime minister about the book and describes him as “fanatically” knowledgeable.

MacGregor, who has worked as a ghost writer, says Harper hasn’t employed one.

“I can guarantee you there’s no ghost,” he said. “I’m sure it would come up. The reason it would come up is I know of his stated determination that no matter how long it took, he wanted to be the one that did it. He had research help but it was going to be him plucking away at the computer keys.”

Last winter, literary agent Bruce Westwood told The Toronto Star that the project had prompted a bidding war among publishers, and that the prime minister would choose the winner. Harper settled on Simon and Schuster, which is expected to announce the book soon, likely for publication this fall.

Westwood, who represents some of Canada’s best-known writers, said Friday that he’s seen parts of the manuscript and is impressed. “Remember this has not been ghosted,” he said. “This is Harper’s writing. It’s surprisingly good.”

The money from the book will go to a charity. I predict it will be a lot of money.