Former prime minister Stephen Harper says he told Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney in 2012 that the finance post was not available, but he would be the leading candidate if it later opened.
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Former prime minister Stephen Harper says in a new memoir that he offered Mark Carney a role in his Conservative government in 2012, but not as minister of finance.
In “Here for Canada: Memoirs of the 22nd Prime Minister,” Harper writes that he told Carney the finance position was already taken, while indicating Carney would be the leading candidate if the post became vacant.
“Obviously, I did not offer him the post of minister of finance, as it was then not available. However, I indicated that, if he chose to join the government, he would be the leading candidate should the post come open,” Harper writes.
Harper also writes that Carney’s interest in politics was a concern for the government, describing Finance Minister Jim Flaherty as increasingly worried that Carney was “nurturing political ambitions.”
Harper says he raised the matter with Nigel Wright, his chief of staff, who suggested a job offer could either secure Carney’s services or force Carney to rule out a bid for the Liberal party leadership because of his non-partisan role as Bank of Canada governor.
Harper says that after taking time to reflect, Carney decided to stay out of partisan politics, and that Carney left soon after for a role at the Bank of England.
The memoir also describes Harper’s reflections on his time in office, including his account of deciding to remain prime minister through a leadership decision tied to the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
Harper writes that he decided to serve until just after July 1, 2017, then call a leadership race, after debating stepping down in the summer of 2014.
Harper also writes that during preparation for a French leaders’ debate in Montreal, news “flashed across my screen” about a controversial 2015 election episode involving his government’s embrace of a “barbaric cultural practices hotline.”
He writes he was “furious” upon learning about the policy, says he was not consulted, and that he had to defend it on the campaign trail.
Harper says the book includes his description of face-to-face standoffs with Russian President Vladimir Putin at G8 meetings and his personal experience during the 2014 shooting on Parliament Hill, including that he was without his normal protective detail.
He also writes that while he attended the World Economic Forum in Davos twice during his time in office, he now opposes it and says that if he were prime minister today he would end Canada’s participation in the WEF.
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