The Longer I'm Prime Minister ― Stephen Harper and Canada, 2006-

The definitive portrait of Stephen Harper in power--and of the impact his government is having on Canada--by this country's most trenchant, influential and surprising political commentator.

Stephen Harper is on his way to becoming one of Canada's most significant prime ministers. He has already been in power longer than Pearson and Diefenbaker. By the end of this majority term, he'll have caught up to Brian Mulroney. And with that majority in hand, he's been moving more boldly to build the Canada he wants and to entrench the Conservatives as the twenty-first century's "natural governing party."

In The Longer I'm Prime Minister, Paul Wells explains Harper not only to Harper supporters but also to readers who can't believe he is Canada's prime minister. Harper has been elected 3 times and Conservative Party support grew in every election. As Wells writes, "He could not win without widespread support in the land...which suggests that Harper has what every successful federal leader has needed to survive over a long stretch of time: a superior understanding of Canada." Too many people who oppose Harper try to ignore him or dismiss him or discount what he clearly knows about the Canadian electorate. But as Wells writes in this authoritative, engaging and sometimes deeply critical account of the man and Canada, "Harper endures. I figure it is not too soon to try to understand him."

PAUL WELLS, political editor of Maclean's magazine, has reinvigorated Canadian political writing for more than a decade. His career began in Montreal at The Gazette in 1989; in 1997 he became The Gazette's national affairs columnist, then moved to the National Post for its launch in 1998. In 2003, he joined Maclean's, where he has won two gold National Magazine Awards for his writing on politics. A regular commentator for both English- and French-language television and radio, he is also the author of the bestseller Right Side Up: The Fall of Paul Martin and the Rise of Stephen Harper's New Conservatism. His blog, Inkless Wells, set the standard for political blogging in Canada.