Thank goodness we got our country back. Because apparently, Prime Minister Stephen Harper stole it from us and he was refusing to give it back.

I'm not sure how he managed to swipe it exactly, whether it was through lowering the tax burden on Canadians or transferring record levels of funding to the provinces for health care and social services.

Maybe he stole it when he created tax-free savings accounts for Canadians who wanted something other than restrictive RRSPs to save for the future. Perhaps it was when he allowed families and seniors to split their incomes for tax purposes to save money.

It could be that Stephen Harper stole Canada from us when he brought in tougher penalties for criminals who commit serious offences like child sexual abuse or who use firearms when committing a crime. That could be it.

Or maybe it happened when he issued a formal apology to victims of residential schools, brought in new programs to address violence against aboriginal women and ensured First Nations people have the same legal right to review their local government's finances that other levels of government do.

I never really thought that when Stephen Harper reduced the GST to 5% from 7% – which has saved me hundreds of dollars over the years – that he was actually stealing my country by allowing me to keep more of my own money. But his political opponents insist he was. So it must be true. Stephen Harper stole our country right from under our noses and I didn't even notice. Go figure.

But all's well that ends well. We have our country back again. Phew.

Canada is now in the trusted hands of Justin Trudeau. We know he won't steal Canada from us. OK, so the rookie Liberal leader doesn't have much life experience. In fact, he really has no experience running anything at all. He has no grasp of the complex issues facing any prime minister. And he has trouble speaking about political matters unless they're written for him in a script.

But so what? As long as he doesn't steal our country from us like Stephen Harper did we can all sleep soundly at night.

Hope prevailed over fear. That's what this election was all about, right? Our prime minister stole our country from us and deliberately promoted hatred and fear? That's what Canadians were led to believe. Or at least that's what Justin Trudeau's message was. And apparently it worked.

Whatever the case, I'm glad we have our country back, I really am. I didn't know Harper had stolen it. But I'm glad we have it back all the same.

And I look forward to life again knowing our country has been returned to its rightful owner. No more divisive policies coming out of Ottawa; happy provincial premiers holding hands with Canada's prime minister singing Kumbaya; no more Supreme Court of Canada challenges of our criminal laws; and no more accusations of racism against the federal government.

The best part about this is that if Trudeau falls short, including a failure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, settle land claims with First Nations, reduce child poverty or “save” Canada's medicare system, it won't mean a return of hatred and fear over hope.

Only a Conservative leader could be responsible for that. Or at least that's how it's interpreted in Canadian political culture.

It will simply mean that a warm and fuzzy Trudeau had his heart in the right place and that he did the best he could. After all, he gave us our country back. What more could we ask for?