The Prospect of Memoirs
John Ibbitson wrote his biography on Stephen Harper (entitled Stephen Harper) just in time for the Conservatives’ defeat in 2015 and mentioned that Harper jotted down the sort of notes on all his activities and meetings as prime minister that would have served as the backbone of a political memoir:
“Harper has been keeping a diary of sorts since he became prime minister. It grew more or less haphazardly out of the detailed schedule of his day that is printed out for him each morning by staff. After a particular meeting, or at the end of the day, on a flight, or when he otherwise feels like it, Harper jots notes beside the itinerary of his pression of this meeting, that leader, this briefing, that phonecall. The more interesting or important the event, the longer and more detailed the annotations. Not only do they serve to remind him of who has committed to what, they also allow him to talk to himself about what is going on in his life and in the government.”[1]
Stephen Harper said off hand before of the Council of State Governments’ Midwestern Conference in Saskatoon on 28 July 2025 that he had just finished drafting his political memoirs but conceded that they cannot include the most interesting stories: “I just completed a draft of my memoirs. Now I have to be honest: all the best stories can’t go in – they really can’t. I think that some day, I should just do them like Margaret Thatcher and write them for after I die.”[2]
