Article content

Build it and they will come.

Over his years as leader and Prime Minister, Stephen Harper built a formidable base for the Conservative Party of Canada and in the end they came out to vote for their champion. The problem for Harper is that was it; he didn’t have a compelling offer for the other 70% of the country and they found someone more to their liking in Justin Trudeau.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or MacDougall: Harper’s style grated, but he leaves the country better off Back to video

As a result, the Liberals grew from 34 seats to form a majority government. It might have been Iggy who told Liberals to “rise up” but it was Trudeau who produced the electoral Viagra that has put the Liberals back in pole position.

The numbers are stunning. Canadians who were tired of Harper got together and voted for change. So, how was Stephen Harper, destroyer of the Liberal party, bested by Trudeau the sequel?

A fourth Harper mandate was always going to be a longshot. Ten years in government produces a lot of rubble, and the Harper government wielded its partisan sledgehammer hundreds of times during its three mandates, so it’s no surprise they were eventually bludgeoned in return.