Stephen Harper

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday secured permission for a rare suspension of Parliament, a move that allows him to avoid an imminent vote that would have toppled his Conservative government, elected just two months ago. But the narrow escape from a crisis that was largely self- inflicted has badly scarred a prime minister already widely regarded as a bully, and reawakened a national unity crisis in a country where regional grievances are sometimes dormant but easily stirred.

Canadians elected a new, conservative government Monday that is expected to edge Canada to the right politically and build closer ties to the Bush administration, marking the end of the Liberal Party's 13-year reign.

Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper is not a charismatic politician. Instead, he tends to be aloof and cerebral, with an explosive temper and a reluctance for the baby kissing and back-slapping that are part of a typical campaign. But the former oil executive and economist has a sharp mind for policy and an instinct for strategy that helped win the wary support of Canadians in a carefully controlled campaign.

New Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned the United States to back off from a challenge of Canadian sovereignty in Arctic waters that are thawing from global warming. In the first news conference since his election, Harper upbraided U.S. Ambassador David H. Wilkins for asserting that the icy polar regions are international waters. Canada claims that its estimated 16,000 islands in the region make it Canadian.

Re "Canada Shifts to Right in Election," Jan. 24 You state that Stephen Harper was elected Canadian prime minister despite concerns that some of his social views are extreme. In fact, he was elected because the opposition has been pushing extreme left positions for years, and that finally resulted in Canadians being fed up. Anything short of full acceptance of the traditional definition of marriage being changed to include gays and other options is considered extreme. Any view that doesn't embrace abortion as morally just is considered extreme.

With the emotions of the immigration debate roiling politics to the north, President Bush arrived here Wednesday evening for meetings with Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The three-party conference, aimed at bolstering a year-old economic and security partnership, comes at a sensitive moment in U.S.-Mexican relations. The Senate is debating a proposal that would overhaul the United States' immigration laws.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has declared he won't talk to the national media because they are biased against him, his latest move in a spat with the Parliament's press corps. After reporters walked out of a news conference this week when he refused to answer any questions, Harper said no Liberal prime minister had faced such effrontery, and he had decided to deal only with more friendly local press.