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Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper & yours truly st Toronto airport lounge. https://t.co/qcFnL9Wgro — Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) June 11, 2017

The encounter was captured by Lee Humphrey, an international security consultant and conservative supporter.

This appears to be the first time the pair has met. Although images exist online of Harper seeming to pose with the members of KISS, the band is actually Destroyer, a KISS tribute band.

Harper’s nine years as prime minister brought him into contact of several (usually Canadian) popstars, including Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, Justin Bieber and Celine Dion.

Out of all of them, Simmons may be the one most politically aligned with Harper. Although he has voted for both Democrats and Conservatives, Simmons has said he is “very conservative” and doesn’t “believe in welfare states.”

However, he is also a strong opponent of celebrities voicing their political views.

“I think celebrities should basically shut their pie holes and do what they do best — act, sing, tap dance… all that kind of stuff,” he told Fox Business in 2016.

Harper’s term in office saw Canada emerge as one of the most non-compromising international supporters of Israel. Simmons, whose birth name is Chaim Witz, was born in Israel and is a vocal critic of fellow pop stars who boycott Israeli tour dates.

While in Toronto, in fact, Simmons appeared at a gala event held by Technion Canada, a nonprofit that supports the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Harper, meanwhile, has strictly avoided any comment on Canada’s current Liberal government, and on the recently concluded race to succeed him.

Instead, he has been hitting the speaking circuit, where he is sought after as an increasingly rare example of a stable G7 conservative leader. One of four speeches offered on his Worldwide Speakers Group profile page, in fact, is titled “Erosion of Global Stability.”

• Email: thopper@nationalpost.com | Twitter: TristinHopper