OTTAWA — Friends of Stephen and Laureen Harper say they are happy to be home in Calgary and plan “to ride off into the sunset” together. Once it became clear he was going to lose the October general election, Harper decided he would vacate the Conservative leadership. He is leaving convinced that his real legacy is in the realm of foreign policy, where his approach was grounded in realism but stayed true to certain consistent principles. People close to him say he was clear he had no intention of ruling from beyond the political grave. Even if Harper is determined not to be the story at the convention, many delegates will have other ideas.

Source: National Post May 25, 2016 15:52 UTC