Article content

One of the most surprising things to emerge during the research for the National Post’s in-depth profile of Stephen Harper is that — without fail —friend and foe alike said the staid Conservative leader has a unique penchant for comedy.

And to prove it, they handed over an impressive catalogue of jokes told by our normally staid, humourless Prime Minister.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or The secret side of Stephen Harper: The staid prime minister's quick wit is lauded by friends and foes alike Back to video

What follows are self-deprecating quips, old standards, partisan jabs and some pretty cringe worthy monologues—which might explain why we don’t see much of this in public anymore.

“Here’s a true story. Laureen is a loyal subscriber to Frank Magazine and loves to read about who is said to be sleeping around on Parliament Hill. Anyway, I said to her one day – ‘what are you going to do when Frank prints some untruth about me having an affair?’ Without missing a beat she said, ‘I’ll call her up and ask her what it’s like.’”

— From Harper’s 2002 speech to the Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner.