Harper Named Canadian Newsmaker of the Year

Globe and Mail article Here and partial reprint of the Time article Here

"For the way he has dramatically reshaped the national conversation, for restoring a sense of competence and integrity to high public office, and for proving that big ideas still matter in Canadian politics, Stephen Harper has been chosen by TIME as Canada's Newsmaker of 2006."

As CBC, CTV and the Globe and Mail point out, the title is awarded to the person who makes the most impact - for better or worse - on the news in Canada. As such, I doubt that there are Conservative opponents sitting at home shaking in their shoes about this. Nonetheless, Harper deserves the title. Over the last year, Harper has taken some bold moves that most minority Prime Ministers would not have gone near. He's bucked the notion that minority governments have to be treated like a ticking bomb to be defused or at least buried. On the contrary, he's made large strides to changing Canada's political culture. Whether you agree with the changes is another issue.

[Update]: Reached for comment on this event, Dion conceded with displeasure that Harper was "hot, hot, hot".