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The debate over whether Canada is in a real, or merely technical, recession provided a master class in political leadership from Stephen Harper.

If a true leader has the clarity to see the right thing, the confidence to admit publicly he was wrong and the courage to do the right thing, then a political leader is someone who changes course while maintaining he has been completely consistent all along.

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As the GDP numbers for the second quarter rolled in, confirming two quarters of negative growth, Harper brushed off talk of a recession and pronounced the Canadian economy is “back on track” because the growth numbers for June were positive. “It is good news,” he pronounced. “Thank God we didn’t use this data to go out and commit to three years of deficit spending and tax hikes, like the other guys.”

What he did do was announce that a $100-million advanced manufacturing hub would be built in Burlington, Ont., if the Conservatives are re-elected. The concept is based on the German Fraunhofer model, where small, perhaps risk-averse manufacturing businesses can use technology at a central hub to test and develop products.