Categories: Need to know

Canada doesn't have a constitutional monarchy. It has a “Harper government."

Tories re-brand government moniker in government communications

by macleans.ca on Friday, March 4, 2011 12:07pm - 107 Comments

It’s official: the Harper government is now calling itself the Harper government. Public servants were told in a directive late last year that the “Government of Canada” moniker in federal communications should be replaced with the words “Harper government.” Dimitri Soudas, the Prime Minister’s spokesman, told The Globe and Mail that this “a long-standing practice that accurately reflects the government’s leadership, regardless of who was the prime minister.” He pointed to government releases in the past that referred to the “Paul Martin government” and the “Chrétien government.” So what’s the big deal? Journalists routinely use the phrase when reporting the Conservative government’s actions. Says Jonathan Rose, a specialist in political communications at Queen’s University: “It is one thing for journalists or even the public to use the more partisan ‘Harper government,’ but it is another thing for the state to equate the Government of Canada with the leader of the governing party.”

The Globe and Mail

Tags: Parliament

Stewart_Smith

I guess the next step in this evolution will be for SH to start referring to himself and his government in the third person.

Anon 001

Stephen says ….
http://www.facebook.com/TheGypsyDad Dan Sauvé

Next step! New Anthem ! O Harper Land! http://deadbrokedad.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-cana…

wendelin

The "Idiot Harper Government" it is!

D.D.S

it's a Harper Media too it seems………sigh http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/03/05/…

christophermcclure

I think 'Harper Regime' would be even better.

Melanie

It is confusing. Do we still live in a democracy or is it a harpocracy. Is it still the country of Canada or is it Harperland? Am I a Canadian or Haparian? Are we still a parliamentary democracy and do we vote for representatives of a party or are we suddenly a republic and vote for president err prime minister. This is ridiculous. I can't believe he'd be so stupid.

Sherri Moore

Harper hates Canada anyways!! He always has refering us to a welfare state and saying how great the USA is.
If we have him in any longer we will be the Damn USA!. Wake up Canadians before its too late.
Not that Canada is really Canada anymore since he took power. Now we find out that power was obtained by cheating much like his good friend George Bush down south. Piss on his whole regime and may Canada be Canada once again!

Keith in Brampton

"how about a new political party, one that is accountable, fiscally responsible"

Isn't that the bill of goods the CPC has been trying to sell us about themselves? Isn't that supposedly the reason they were created?

Maybe we should just hold them accountable for their promises…

Olivier

Dear lord would you PLEASE stop with the Nazi referrences?!

Sherri Moore

Why thats what Super Right Wing Governements are Facist=NAZI
Lenee

Agreed! You know people have been doing that in the US on both sides of the political spectrum, and it is just old. The chicken little "the sky is falling" scare tactics are old. You have to wonder about people who use fear, they really have nothing positive to offer.

Olivier

I work for Service Canada, er I mean Service Harper, and the amount of comments we've received for this story is ratehr astonishing.

It's not huge in numbers but I don't think we got a single call or email about Oda or the Elections fraud claim.

Sherri Moore

You got to be joking :(

Scared beared

It is and always will be "The Government of Canada". Canadians need change , desparately.
Benjamin

He re-branded the Canadian Government by CUTTING CANADA OUT of the name….

Feels like harbingers of things to come if we let him, I won't be surprised if/when he does this, just surprised if angry mobs, myself included, don't pour into the streets to demand his incarceration…

…and that DOES happen a lot these days.

Scared beared

How dare he take the name "Canada" out !!! Thanks Benjamin,
Crusty Codger

Do CANADIANS care enough, Harper has been allowed to get away with steasily increasing acts of disrespect of Parliament, even making annual financial statements in a chinese restaurant. Me,I' getting ready to return tosanity and GENTLEMANLY behaviour.

catwalker

Ever since they got into office, Stephen Harper and the conservatives have been trying to re-brand the Canadian Government as a branch of the Conservative Party, which they can then use as a conduit for political advertising. All parties use policy to promote themselves to some extent, but this is blatant beyond belief. Having "The Harper Government" on official letterhead bears no relation to the use of the term by journalists. Journalists (correctly) refer to the "Harper Government" when they are talking about policy, current legislation, and so on, which are associated with the current PM and his caucus. That is very different from "The Government of Canada," which is a much larger entity defined by the constitution, the body of laws, the court system, the various departments, the programs they administer such as immigration, the military, and so on. The Government of Canada is an enduring entity that existed long before Stephen Harper and will continue to exist when Canadians vote him out of office. The Government of Canada does not belong to Stephen Harper and the Conservatives. It belongs to all Canadians. It's time to take it back.

Keith in Brampton

Bravo!

The Government of Canada belongs to us all – and consists of far, far more than the hundred-plus MPs of the currently governing party.

No MAJORITY government has ever had the hubris to try something like this; if he keeps it up, those large brass balls of his will make nice weights when we throw him in the Otawa River…

a Harper's canadian

Oh Harper's Canada,
Our true Harper's North strong and free…

Get used to it.
Cindy M

Indeed taking the work of others and just slapping your name on it as if it were your own is plagiarism, and morally bankrupt of him to do this.
He should be sued by the Canadian public for unethical behaviour and plagiarism of the public commons, which are probably not laws, but since no one has tried anything as greasy as Harper continually tries, we are gonna end up creating a whole set of new rules to reign in evil little calculator boys like Harpo.
Keith in Brampton

Just watch; next defence of Kenney's use of government stationery for political fundraising is that it's no longer "official" because it doesn't say "Harper Government".
ThinkingMan

Leave it to that weasel Soudas in Harper's office to find yet another way to twist a meaningful phrase into something dark and ugly.
magog45

Harper joins some illustrious company, the Mubarak government, the Ceaușescu government, the Kim Jong-il government, the Gaddafi government, the Ben Ali government and all their ilk. I guess the next step is posters of Harper everywhere, the air must be thin out west.

Concerned Winnipeger

I agree with your sentiment, but please don't generalize about the West. I'm a proud Westerner in Winnipeg, and am appalled by the "Harper Government". It seems every day they stoop lower and lower.
mesmerloco

Apparently there already are posters of him everywhere in the government lobby of the House of Commons:

Harper gallery leaves MPs speechless http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.ht…

apalled

Perhaps if we all made out our tax payment cheques to " Harper Government"?

Keith in Brampton

If you REALLY want to protest, make them out to the "Ignatief Government". THAT would blow a few fuses!

wilson

Or pay to the Coalition Government

D.D.S

as long as the folks are elected MP's …I have no problem with a coalition….

Sherri Moore

Personally I don't see why we pay taxes anyways!!! All the resources in this country (IF THIS COUNTRY BELONGS TO US)
I think it's us that should be getting huge checks every month not paying taxes. How absurd!

Steve

That sounds like Social Credit to me.

Stormcrow

Purely from a communications standpoint, this development is fascinating.
The previous Liberal government was defetaed during a time when Canada's books were balanced, employment was generally good and there were no really big economic 'beefs'. But, you can identify the key point of decline once the Liberals were referred to as Canada's 'Naturally Governing Party'. From that point on, the clock was ticking, and a sentiment began to emerge amongst Canadians to vote just to prove that point wrong. The Liberals didn't even try to say that 'Natural Governing Party' was wrong…they just took it in stride and didn't distance themselves nearly enough from the label.

Now here we are today with a very similar situation, and I'm really surprised that Harper's supporters aren't looking at this development with more concern, if ony from the standpoint of preserving this government's hold on power. It's not even the 'conservative' government anymore…it's 'the Harper Government'. It's almost a repeat situation, where the label becomes almost a challenge to voters to prove it wrong. Look at history…support for a government can evaporate overnight for the most seemingly insignificant reasons, at least 'insignificant' when looked at in the big picture. From a communications and 'branding' standpoint, it's like daring people to prove you wrong.

Like I said, I'm really surprised Harper supporters would fail to see the threat from this sort of communications 'over reach'…it can only hurt. They may well have set the clock ticking on themselves.

Trudeau lover

Trudeauvia will never be changed to "Harperland"… never! It's up to all of us Trudeauvian cultists to stop the democratic will of Canadians and encourage our media to keep up the drive by smears and hysterical hatchet jobs on the "Harper Government", I mean the illegitimate Government of Trudeauvia. The American media got God (Obuma) elected by destroying McCain and Palin and our media is just as sleazy and dishonest as the American media, so lets keep up the hysterical witch hunts and manufactured "scandals" and we Liberals and Separatists will "get back to power" before you can say Adscam!! Long live Trudeauvia!!
IsaacWolf

I should no longer find it shocking that so many whiny Canadians insist on spewing their continued hyperbolic demagoguery onto the comments pages of most online articles, yet I charge once more into the breach. The constant drone of comparisons of our government to fascists, nazis, dictatorships etc has become quite tiresome. If the people who spout such refuse actually lived in a real dictitorial state or under actual tyranny they would deficate themselves. The pure decadence of such referrals is vomit inducing and speaks in reality to the pampered, soft, and weak nature of our civil society.

The continual tirade against our ties to the monarchy are also about as threadbare. We seem to be a nation hell bent on the destruction of our past and in doing so allow ourselves to be the architects of our future destruction as a national entity. Sadly all of these cries tend to come from those who are woefully uninformed as to the nature of Canadian history, politics, and the shaping forces of current world events.

I will tell you one thing Canada is in need of, a huge dose of growing up.

Jenn_

And the grown up thing to do is remove the country's name from our government?

taxpayer

Ummmm, do you have clean water? do you have electricity? do you flush your toilet? do you walk on a street? ever gone to the hospital? ever needed the police? gone to school? ever voted? gone to court?

If you don't want to pay taxes, don't take advantage of all of the above, provided by your friendly neighborhood taxpayer.

Christina Archer

The Harper Government sounds like dear Stephen has confused the world with a news broadcast.
Ron Ev Smith

Maybe there is a positive side to changing to "The Harper Government " as a formal policy change. When the voting public eventually starts to turn against them over issues they do not agree with or screwups along the way then there will be no doubt who to hold responsible.THE HARPER GOVERNMENT. Could be the "Catch phrase" of the Century!
nutsandbolts

O Harpoland!

Our home and fascist land!
True sycophant love in all thy citizens command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise .|.
The True KIng strong and fascist!

From far and wide,
O Harpoland, we bow in front of thee!
God keep our King glorious and fascist!
O Harpoland, we kneel and bow in front of thee.

O Harpoland, we grovel and genuflect in front of thee.

Margaret

Wait for it – we'll have to take a Pledge of Allegiance to Harper.

Why James Travers? Only the good die young.
http://www.facebook.com/TheGypsyDad Dan Sauvé

O Harper Land!
Our home and sold out grounds!
True betrayed love in all thy slaves command.

With sorrowing hearts we see thee sink,
The True North shackled and tied!

From far and wide,
O Harper Land, we stand submitted for thee.

God keep our land shameful and taxed!
O Harper Land, we stand submitted for thee.

O Harper Land, we stand submitted for thee.

Sherri Moore

Well he is already starting to build his prisons. You can bet they will be FEMA prisons when him and Obama make the new "security" border system. The man is dangerous!
Haley

That’s so true. I have noticed we have been hearing mostly from “the Harper” government rather than the Government of Canada. Now I can see why Mr. Harper wants to paint the airplane, and build more prisons….
Moi-de Saint.

Canada doesn’t have a constitutional monarchy. It has a “Harper government.”
Obviously, there are changes, one being, no more Me, but we. It will now be known, by law, as the (—-) government of the Americas. I wonder how long before you all catch on? Hope not as long as it took to catch on to the giving Canada to the french scam. That also was to win over the majority English, who were in no way, going to be running around parlying the dingdong. Far better to join the NAU!! And thats a done deal!

The Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), along with other
U.S.-Canada initiatives have allowed the two countries to incrementally move towards
creating a common security perimeter
abc

I kind of am really liking the new name. It just really pops at you, you know what I mean? Like "Government of Canada" is really cool too or whatever and I mean I didn't not like it before…. but now that I heard the new one. I dunno, "Harper government" just has that WOW factor to it……

DEF

didn't not? im confused…

GHI

you missed the satire

Louise B

Canada – home of the most venomous, partisan and meanspirited, not to mention unresponsive and Undemocratic government we've seen since Idi Amin left town….

The CRAP Government – home of a bunch of Con-Reformers-Alliance Partiers (Tea Partiers without the charisma) Ugh and may "Gold save Canada'…..

no wonder Harpo's wife left him for her RCMP bodyguard…Andy Cohen and Norman Spector are absolutely correct…that's why they appeared "together" on the CBC Xmas interview….rumours are rumous no longer!

Moi-de Saint.

jeez! That was trudeaus child bride that , didn't leave him but just er, you know, right in front of him.lol
Now whose kids are whose as the world turns.