Two protesters disrupt a Vancouver Board of Trade event on 6 January 2015, featuring a question-and-answer period with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The two protesters are named Sean Devlin and Shireen Soofi and carry placards, one reading 'Climate Justice Now' and the other reading 'The Conservatives take climate change seriously' with a line through the text. Photo: Digital Journal

20 October 2015 (CTV News) – Nearly a decade after he became prime minister, Stephen Harper has resigned as party leader following a decisive defeat by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. In a statement sent out late on Monday evening, Conservative Party President John Walsh said he had spoken to Harper, “and he has instructed me to reach out to the newly elected parliamentary caucus to appoint an Interim Leader and to the National Council to implement the leadership selection process.” In a concession speech to supporters in Calgary, Harper did not mention his resignation as leader, but said he accepted the defeat by Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau “without hesitation.” […] In the 2013 speech where he outlined his accomplishments, Harper had also lauded the fact that, instead of a national day care program, his party was sending Universal Child Care Benefit cheques to parents. […] That 2013 speech was notable too for what it didn’t mention. Harper avoided talking about climate change, after pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol in 2011. [And the UN convention to combat drought and desertification –Des] He also ignored Aboriginal issues in the speech. That wasn’t surprising considering he cancelled Paul Martin’s $5-billion Kelowna Accord with Aboriginal peoples, and rejected a steady drumbeat demanding a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Harper was widely criticized during his tenure for eliminating the long-form census in 2010 and was accused of “muzzling” tax-payer funded scientists. [And dismantling Canada’s science libraries –Des] [more]

Stephen Harper resigns as Conservative leader