For the last 10 days of 2015, the Angus Reid Institute is counting down our top 10 stories of the year, based on the total number of page views they received at angusreid.org. This is number 7.
The 2015 election marked the end of the Stephen Harper era that began in 2006. Over the course of nine years in government – winning successive minorities in 2006 and 2008 and finally a majority in 2011 – Harper amassed considerable lists of both accomplishments and failures.
At the end of October, as the transition from Harper’s Conservatives to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals was underway, the Angus Reid Institute asked respondents to look back on the Harper years, as well as forward to the new government.
Respondents picked Harper’s biggest accomplishments and failures from a list of seventeen commonly mentioned items. With 36% of respondents choosing it, reducing the GST from 7% to 5% was seen as his biggest accomplishment. Balancing the budgets in 2006 – 08 and in 2015 was the second most popular accomplishment with 24%.
Read the stories for yourself here:
October 30, 2015: The Harper legacy: Canadians praise cuts to GST, balanced budgets, condemn environmental record
November 2, 2015: Canadians excited about Trudeau win, less so about key campaign promises on refugees, TFSAs, pot
Image Credit: GAC|AMC