Table of Contents
Prologue ix
Day 1 Nowhere but Up: Post-Election Day 1993 3
Day 2 Open Season: Searching for Leadership of the Right 20
Day 3 Millennium Makeover: The PC-DRC Coalition 33
Day 4 New Alliance Sheriff in Town: Stephen Harper 41
Day 5 PC Leader of the Pact: Peter MacKay 48
Day 6 By-election Wake-up Call: Two Merge into One under Stephen Harper 61
Day 7 Party Launch, 2004: Official Opposition, Springboard Platform, and Housecleaning 77
Day 8 Priming for Election 2006: Strong Research, Targeted Platform, and a Few Lucky Breaks 107
Day 9 Minority First Mandate: A Cabinet Made with Green Timber 141
Day 10 Governing, Part 1: Implementing the Platform and Tackling Unexpected Issues 159
Day 11 Governing, Part 2: Solving Issues - Policy Clashes, Managing People, and Staying Election Ready 195
Day 12 Financial Crisis, 2008: House Manoeuvres and a Stimulus Budget 219
Day 13 Minority Second Mandate: Governing like a Majority 247
Day 14 Majority Third Mandate: The Harper Doctrines 270
The Days Ahead
What the Left Can Learn from the Right 291
An Uncertain Path Forward for the Conservatives 298
Acknowledgments 307
Notes 309
Index 319