Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

Stephen Harper, celebrity

by Aaron Wherry on Friday, July 29, 2011 1:25pm - 52 Comments

First, a Buffalo news anchor hails the Prime Minister’s appearance at a local putt-putt as a “brush with greatness.” Now, we learn that Mr. Harper’s turn on Murdoch Mysteries brought in a record audience, one that easily surpassed a rerun of Dragon’s Den that night.

A guest star shot by Prime Minister Stephen Harper helped Murdoch Mysteries to its best showing ever, 700,000 viewers on City. Harper played an 1890s desk sergeant on the Toronto-lensed sleuth series.

See previously: Humble brag

Tags: Buffalo, mini golf, Murdoch Mysteries, Stephen Harper

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modster99

That is so cool. What better way to increase the viewership of Canadian content, and it doesn’t cost taxpayer money. MM is probably one of the best shows ever made in Canada. He is better there then when he is pushing the CIBC – lol.

Anonymous

I agree. Stephen Harper should quit his day job and take up acting full time.

Anonymous

Maybe when he retires in 2019 at the end of his fourth mandate, he can launch an acting career just for the fun of it.
Anonymous

Maybe when he retires in 2019 at the end of his fourth mandate, he can launch an acting career just for the fun of it.

Anonymous

LOL,

How dare you meet my cheekiness with cheekiness!!!
Anonymous

LOL,

How dare you meet my cheekiness with cheekiness!!!

Anonymous

Maybe when he retires in 2019 at the end of his fourth mandate, he can launch an acting career just for the fun of it.
modster99

Oops – I should have been more clear. I was talking about Yannick Bisson- the actor on MM. He also is in some commercials for CIBC (quite sure that SH has never been in commercials for CIBC).
Anyone who watches MM would have caught that, so I am assuming that you don’t, and didn’t see SH in it. Interesting that you agree with something you know nothing about.

Anonymous

I think LKO’s point was that Harper should quit his day job. Full stop.

Anonymous

No. I was just being silly.
Anonymous

No. I was just being silly.
Anonymous

Sorry, didn’t mean to misrepresent you.
Anonymous

No. I was just being silly.

Anonymous

I think LKO’s point was that Harper should quit his day job. Full stop.

Anonymous

This is a very tiny station if they think Harper is a powerful world leader….and the ‘brush with greatness’ is barf-inducing. LOL

As to appearing on a TV show…American gimmick we seem to have imported

Anonymous

It’s all relative. Harper is the leader of the world’s ninth or tenth largest economy. Also, I can’t recall a US president playing a cameo role on a TV show, so I’m not sure how that’s an American gimmick.

I.P. Nightly

I guess you don’t watch Mythbusters. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/09/obama-appears-on-mythbusters_n_794505.html

Anonymous

I didn’t know about that, so thanks for the link.

Anonymous

So it is an American gimmick.
Anonymous

Not sure that it makes sense to call it an “American gimmick”. I’m sure lots of European leaders have appeared on TV shows within their country, too.

Also, what strikes me as unusual about this is that Harper isn’t appearing on the show as himself. He’s an actor playing a character on the show.
Anonymous

@Crit_Reasoning:disqus

Ooooh….ahhhhhhh…..ohhhhhhh
Anonymous

@Crit_Reasoning:disqus

Ooooh….ahhhhhhh…..ohhhhhhh
Anonymous

Note to CR: ”American Gimmick” is codespeak among left-leaning and liberal Canadians for “a Bad Thing”.
Anonymous

Note to CR: ”American Gimmick” is codespeak among left-leaning and liberal Canadians for “a Bad Thing”.
Anonymous

Note to CR: ”American Gimmick” is codespeak among left-leaning and liberal Canadians for “a Bad Thing”.

Anonymous

It’s not remotely relative, and you know it.

As to Americans…..

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1582024/40_years_of_presidents_appearing_on.html?cat=37

Anonymous

Yeah, but those are mostly talk show appearances. By “cameo role” I was referring to actually playing a role (i.e. acting).

Anonymous

Umm…the title refers to comedy shows…

We all know leaders can ‘act’
Anonymous

Maybe that’s because it’s not a good idea. Some things should be left to the pros.
Anonymous

Meh. Harper’s cameo appearance on Murdoch was a good move, regardless of his acting chops.
Anonymous

A good move politically CR, but I don’t know for certain if I feel like it was a “good move” generally.

I don’t really take this thought too seriously, but I have to say that there is a small part of my brain that feels as though making a cameo in a television drama ought to be considered beneath the dignity of a sitting Prime Minister. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned that way.
Anonymous

A good move politically CR, but I don’t know for certain if I feel like it was a “good move” generally.

I don’t really take this thought too seriously, but I have to say that there is a small part of my brain that feels as though making a cameo in a television drama ought to be considered beneath the dignity of a sitting Prime Minister. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned that way.
Anonymous

A good move politically CR, but I don’t know for certain if I feel like it was a “good move” generally.

I don’t really take this thought too seriously, but I have to say that there is a small part of my brain that feels as though making a cameo in a television drama ought to be considered beneath the dignity of a sitting Prime Minister. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned that way.

TonyAdams

Hahahahahahaha. Love the blurry photo of Harper playing mini-putt. Reminded of the sasquatch or loch ness monster photos that use to appear occasionally in msm.
Phil King

Well sheesh, we already knew Harper could act.

Now if only he could dance… LOL
http://idrinkinthemorning.com Rick Omen

Shocking that American media doesn’t loath PMSH the same way Canadian media does.

Anonymous

Well the Repubs like him, he’s one of them
Anonymous

Well the Repubs like him, he’s one of them
Anonymous

Well the Repubs like him, he’s one of them

Anonymous

Which, if true, I find decidedly weird given that Harper is arguably to the left of Obama, let alone the Republicans.
Anonymous

Which, if true, I find decidedly weird given that Harper is arguably to the left of Obama, let alone the Republicans.

Anonymous

Harper has learned to rein things in so he can get elected….but Repub he is….and at the moment he’s sitting on his tea-pots.

Anonymous

Yup, that Hidden Agenda is going to come out any day now, now that Harper has his majority.

Can’t wait to check back with Emily et al. in about 4 years, when they tell us that the REAL Hidden Agenda will emerge when Harper gets his SECOND majority . . . just you wait and see . . .
Anonymous

Oh I think the hidden agenda is pretty open now….you just don’t see it.
Anonymous

Yup, that Hidden Agenda is going to come out any day now, now that Harper has his majority.

Can’t wait to check back with Emily et al. in about 4 years, when they tell us that the REAL Hidden Agenda will emerge when Harper gets his SECOND majority . . . just you wait and see . . .
Anonymous

Yup, that Hidden Agenda is going to come out any day now, now that Harper has his majority.

Can’t wait to check back with Emily et al. in about 4 years, when they tell us that the REAL Hidden Agenda will emerge when Harper gets his SECOND majority . . . just you wait and see . . .

Anonymous

Which, if true, I find decidedly weird given that Harper is arguably to the left of Obama, let alone the Republicans.

Anonymous

I’m not sure that ideology drives folks in the media as much as most people assume, but I wonder if what you’re observing is true because while Harper is arguably to the right of the “Canadian media” he’s nonetheless arguably to the left of the “American media”?

I find the reaction of Americans to Canadian PM’s interesting, especially in as much as almost any “conservative” Canadian PM would likely fall somewhere in the centre of the Democratic Party if they lived in the U.S. Not to overemphasize our differences, but I think we sometimes forget how much more “conservative” the U.S. generally is when compared to Canada.

Anonymous

That’s come out very recently in a couple of articles that were (re)published in the National Post, both from American right-leaning writers and publications. One was from Freddie Barnes, I think from the Weekly Standard. In both cases, they were talking about Canada’s enviable debt/deficit situation relative to the US. And in both articles, the authors referred to Canada’s “conservative” government with deliberate quotation marks, and went on to remark that by US standards, Canadian conservatives just ain’t very conservative.

Anonymous

That said, if they were discussing FISCAL “conservatism” (and presumably they were if they were talking about our deficit/debt as compared to the U.S.) then in that sense I’d say Canada is actually MORE conservative than the U.S. (at least our politicians are).

Hell, when I look at the fiscal mess in the U.S. I sometimes wonder if the right-wing of the NDP is actually more fiscally conservative than most American politicians. (LOL, OK maybe not, but I think the Canadian population thinks about fiscal matters in a way that, for now anyway, will force any party wanting to take a shot at governing some day to tow a pretty conservative line fiscally).

Anonymous

That’s come out very recently in a couple of articles that were (re)published in the National Post, both from American right-leaning writers and publications. One was from Freddie Barnes, I think from the Weekly Standard. In both cases, they were talking about Canada’s enviable debt/deficit situation relative to the US. And in both articles, the authors referred to Canada’s “conservative” government with deliberate quotation marks, and went on to remark that by US standards, Canadian conservatives just ain’t very conservative.

Anonymous

I’m not sure that ideology drives folks in the media as much as most people assume, but I wonder if what you’re observing is true because while Harper is arguably to the right of the “Canadian media” he’s nonetheless arguably to the left of the “American media”?

I find the reaction of Americans to Canadian PM’s interesting, especially in as much as almost any “conservative” Canadian PM would likely fall somewhere in the centre of the Democratic Party if they lived in the U.S. Not to overemphasize our differences, but I think we sometimes forget how much more “conservative” the U.S. generally is when compared to Canada.