Stephen Harper's Success

Conservative leader Stephen Harper speaks to supporters gathered at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary, Alberta, May 2, 2011 following the election of a Conservative majority government in Canada's federal election.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper won re-election Monday at the head of an elusive majority government, the first for his Conservative Party since 1988, television projections showed. In a ground-breaking election full of firsts, the left-leaning New Democratic Party was on course to surge past the Liberals, who governed for most of the last century, and become Canada's official opposition. Capping a disastrous night for the separatist Bloc Quebecois, their leader Gilles Duceppe lost his seat two decades after he was first elected to parliament and the party was set to be reduced to just two seats, from 47. AFP PHOTO / GEOFF ROBINS (Photo credit should read GEOFF ROBINS/AFP/Getty Images) — Conservative leader Stephen Harper speaks to supporters gathered at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary, Alberta, May 2, 2011 following the election of a Conservative majority government in Canada's federal election. (GEOFF ROBINS / AFP / Getty Images)

In my column for the National Post, I explain how Stephen Harper is successfully governing Canada:

Under Stephen Harper, Canada can fairly claim to be the best-governed country among advanced democracies in the world. Thursday's federal budget locks up Canada's lead.

Right now, the major economies share a common economic problem: With the world slowly and fitfully emerging from the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, they must begin to plan to reduce their debt burdens - but not so fast that they crush demand and abort the recovery. The United Kingdom exemplifies the dangers of moving too fast: your recovery falters.

The United States exemplifies the risks of moving too slow: The inability of its political system to agree on any plan to balance the budget has cost the world's biggest economy its Triple-A credit rating.

Canada has been seeking to move at a pace that's just right - and with the 2012 budget, Canada continues to succeed. Barring an unexpected slump into renewed recession, Thursday's budget moves Canada to budget balance over the next three years. There will be no tax increases. Federal spending growth will be restrained, but outlays will still rise: from $272.9 billion in the year just ended to a projected $296.6 billion in 2015-2016.

This "steady as she goes" course has disappointed some. The Edmonton Sun denounced the budget as "Trudeauesque."

Such an assessment is upsidedown. Trudeau's budgeting was notorious for its recklessness. Harper's budgeting is impeccable in its caution. By 2015-2016, Canada will have reduced both spending and debt to prerecession levels. Nobody else on Earth will be able to say anything like that.

Click here to read the full column.