Harper marks anniversary by urging MPs to stick to economic plan

Prime Minister Stephen Harper looked to the future Wednesday in speech marking the first anniversary of his majority government.

Harper warned fellow Conservative MPs not to rest on their laurels, but to keep working on the party’s plans for prosperity.

“A majority mandate cannot change who we are and how we govern. Our values are our values, our commitments to Canadians must be honoured,” he said.

“But our majority does give us the opportunity to look at the bigger picture and to focus on the longer term.”

Harper says the financial crises of the last few years might not be a passing phenomenon for many countries and there’s a historic shift in world economic power and wealth.

“We as Canadians must decide that we will be on the right side of that history,” he said.

Putting Canada’s economic focus on Asia has been a priority for the Conservatives over the last year, as has expanding trade deals with emerging economies around the world.

The Conservatives, Harper said, are the only party that has a workable plan for managing the economy.

So while the anniversary is a time to celebrate, it’s also a time to realize how far they still have to go, Harper said.

“Our mandate, the big vision of Canada to which we are pledged, the big upheavals of the world to which we belong mean there can be no resting on the laurels of victory,” he said.