Stephen Harper

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Stephen Joseph Harper (Toronto, ON, April 30, 1959) is the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada, a position he has held since February 6, 2006.

Harper first entered the House of Commons of Canada, representing a Calgary riding, in 1993 and again in 2002, as a member of the Canadian Alliance party. In 2004 the Canadian Alliance merged with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and Harper was elected leader of the unified Conservative Party of Canada.

In the wake of a scandal that hit the Liberal government of the day, Harper, in 2005, brought a motion of no confidence in the government of prime minister Paul Martin which was adopted by parliament, resulting in general elections being held early the next year. Harper's conservatives won these elections, albeit with a minority and he was sworn in as prime minister in February 2006.