A calming influence, trustworthy man
Harper also put him in charge of his cabinet’s operations committee, a post usually reserved for the deputy prime minister.
For all intents and purposes, Prentice really was Harper’s deputy: a calming influence, a dapper smooth talker who enjoyed the trust of Calgary oil executives who saw Harper as an oddball. Harper liked and deeply respected Prentice. Still does.
But as Harper grew in confidence, he had less use for Prentice’s counsel. That narrowing of focus is part of the story of Harper’s own eventual defeat, but that’s a story for another day. In 2009, after Stéphane Dion’s ouster as Liberal leader made it less important for the Conservative government to even pretend it had an environmental agenda, Harper made Prentice his environment minister. The post became a source of endless frustration. Prentice stunned Ottawa by quitting federal politics before the end of 2010.
Prentice went to work on Bay Street, where he sometimes permitted himself to criticize Harper, gently in speeches and articles, for pushing pipeline projects with too little regard for opposing views. He was ahead of the trend in arguing that Harper was not drawing First Nations into the discussion. He was talking about “social licence” before talking about social licence was cool.
Then he returned to politics, to Alberta, and to the frustrations life sometimes has for us. He was such a juggernaut he promptly decapitated the main opposition party, recruiting Wildrose leader Danielle Smith and much of her caucus as bornagain PCs. Surely nothing could stop him. Then the price of oil collapsed, and much of the Alberta economy with it, and it turned out that the long list of Prentice’s skills did not include any facility as a campaign stump speaker in the midst of an economic whirlwind.
He lost. Rachel Notley won. She was the only political natural in sight, the only one who seemed to enjoy the game, but it’s even odds whether she will escape his electoral fate when her next campaign comes.
Through it all, Prentice was unfailingly a gentleman, charming in conversation, quick to share a confidence, his eyes twinkling as he set the stage for some telling anecdote or bit of insider gossip.
“A career in politics can be gruelling and it can be thankless,” Harper said Friday in a statement, in a nod to all the disappointment I’ve described here. “Many believe they can overcome or escape these challenges, but few openly embrace them, comforted by the knowledge that their purpose is something greater than themselves.” What can we do now? What can anyone do? “Mourn and pray for the family of one of this country’s great servants,” Harper suggested. No better advice is on offer. It hardly seems enough. A good man’s life ends in a way that offers no solace. Paul Wells is a national affairs writer. His column appears Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.