The foreign policy of Stephen Harper was Canada's foreign policy of the Conservative government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper (in office February 6, 2006 – November 4, 2015). It has been characterized as a great break from the previous 70 years of post-war Canadian diplomacy. Indeed, Harper moved away from the multilateral and internationalist policies of the Liberal Party, and reduced Canada's emphasis on the United Nations, peacekeeping, conflict resolution, and multilateralism.

Harper sought to strengthen cooperation with the United States, particularly in that country's war on terror. As part of this policy, his government continued and expanded Canada's participation in the US-led War in Afghanistan. Harper also led Canada in the Libyan civil war and the Syrian civil war. In parallel, Harper showed relentless support for Israel throughout his whole premiership.

General aspects Commentators generally agree that Stephen Haper's foreign policy differed largely from his predecessors. The switch essentially ended Canada's posture as a country encouraging peacekeeping, conflict resolution, multilateralism, and the post-war world order. There are, however, few defining aspects of Harper's foreign policy, outside of an increased interest in international trade and relentless support of Israel. This led University of Ottawa professor Roland Paris to reject the claim that Harper's foreign policy was ideological, instead arguing that it was "incoherent". Even at the 2013 Manning Conference, there was a consensus among foreign policy panelists that "the government, and the broader conservative movement from which it springs, don't so much have a foreign policy as a vague foreign-policy vision, dressed up with a mish-mash of policy ideas."

According to Toronto Star commentator Eugene Lang, Harper's foreign policy had been "all war, no diplomacy". He points to the fact during Harper's premiership, "the Canadian Armed Forces have had their most active period in living memory". Indeed, Harper had increased Canadian presence in Afghanistan and took part in conflicts in Libya and Syria. Lang argues that Harper overused the military and underused diplomatic channels to achieve Canada's goal of promoting peace.

According to Andrew Nikiforuk of The Tyee, Harper's foreign policy should be analyzed as a tool used to shore up votes from different immigrant community groups within Canada which can swing elections in certain districts. Nikiforuk points to Harper's denunciation of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka as a way to win the support of Toronto's Tamil community. He also notes that Harper's support for Israel "through fire and water", as he told the Knesset, helped him win the support of the majority of Canadian Jews in the 2011 federal election. This was a community that reliably voted for the Liberal Party in previous elections. Nikiforuk concluded that Haper had a "Diaspora-driven foreign policy".

Personnel Harper's first Minister of Foreign Affairs was Peter MacKay. On 14 August 2007, MacKay was replaced as Minister of Foreign Affairs by Maxime Bernier in a cabinet shuffle. Mackay was appointed as Minister of National Defence. On 26 May 2008, Bernier resigned and was replaced by David Emerson. Following the 2008 Canadian federal election, Lawrence Cannon became foreign minister. Following the 2011 Canadian federal election, John Baird became foreign minister. On 3 February 2015, Baird resigned and was replaced by Rob Nicholson.

Relations with the United States

Relations with the United States are always a central issue in Canada, and the period prior to Harper's premiership was criticized by Kim Richard Nossal for "the lamentably awkward and embarrassingly public handling of the continental relationship." He blames Canadian politicians for "firing off verbal pot‐shots at American expense – a temptation to which they have succumbed even when they have been perfectly aware that their doing so can serve no useful Canadian purpose, much less exert a constructive influence on American behaviour."

In contrast, during the 2006 election campaign, Harper promised to improve relations with United States, blaming the previous Liberal government of damaging the relationship due to inappropriate comments made towards the George W. Bush administration.

However, shortly after being congratulated by George W. Bush for his victory, Harper rebuked U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins for criticizing the Conservatives' plans to assert Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic Ocean waters through an increased presence by the Canadian Forces.

U.S. Ambassador On February 16, 2006, Harper named former Progressive Conservative Party Cabinet Minister Michael Wilson as Governor General Michaëlle Jean's appointee to the post of Canada's Ambassador to the United States, replacing Liberal appointee Frank McKenna.

Wilson stated in his first press conference as Ambassador that "Softwood lumber is clearly at the top of the heap, the top priority."

First meeting with U.S. President Bush

Harper's first meeting with the U.S. president occurred on March 30, 2006; and while little was achieved in the way of solid agreements, the trip was described in the media as signaling a trend of closer relations between the two nations. Harper told the press that he used "colourful language not suitable for public television" when pressing President Bush privately over his opposition to a U.S. law that will require Canadian citizens to show their passport when crossing the border into the United States. Bush reported that Harper was "a very open, straightforward fella.... If he's got a problem, he's willing to express it in a way that's clear for all to understand, and that's the way I like to deal with people." The two would later meet in July at the White House.

Softwood lumber dispute

On April 27, 2006, Harper announced in Parliament that the government had reached a seven-year agreement with the United States in the nations' long-standing feud over softwood lumber. Trade Minister David Emerson had vowed since its post-election defection from the Liberals to the Tories to deal with the issue as soon as possible while Ambassador Wilson mentioned it as its first priority.

The three major softwood-producing provinces—British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec—accepted the compromise. Leader of the Opposition Bill Graham and NDP leader Jack Layton did not, criticizing the deal for not requiring the U.S. to pay back all $5 billion it had collected in tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber.

On September 12, 2006, the Canadian and U.S. governments officially signed the deal in Ottawa ending the dispute. Still, it was subject for a confidence vote in the House of Commons during the fall session. The deal would likely have passed with the support of the Bloc Québécois. On September 19, the House voted in favor of the deal 172 to 116 in first reading which eliminated its final hurdle until its official realization

However, Canada has not fully complied to all conditions of the deal before October 1, 2006, the deadline date for both countries to comply.

NORAD In 2006, following a debate and vote in the House of Commons, the Harper government renewed the NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command, initially created in 1957) agreement with the United States, making it permanent and adding maritime defense to the agreement, which previously covered only air defense. The additional coverage was a response to the increasing threat of mass terror attacks, and scenarios that included maritime dimensions. The NDP, which traditionally takes a pacifist position and has historically been opposed to Canadian participation in NORAD, was highly critical of the agreement, arguing that the arrangement will reduce Canadian sovereignty over the country's internal waters.

Anti-ballistic missile defense Previously, the federal government under PM Brian Mulroney decided against participation in the U.S. led anti-missile defense system which was designed to intercept foreign missiles armed with nuclear weapons. This program, known as the Strategic Defense Initiative, was started by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. As part of the effort to improve cooperation with the US, Harper reopened the issue, and agreed to a free-vote on the participation of Canada.

Passport and border security

In 2007, the United States government adopted the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative as part of the anti-terror measures adopted after the 9/11 al-Qaeda terror attacks. This law went into effect in 2009, and required all Canadian and American citizens to use a valid passport in order to enter the United States by land or water, supplementing the earlier requirement for air-travelers. Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Wilson expressed concerns that the accelerated implementation could cause problems for businesses and travelers. (Wilson previously said in an interview on CTV's Question Period in July 2006 that the economy would not be greatly affected by the new measure, but the Federation of Canadian Municipalities continued to express concern.)

Several provincial premiers including Ontario's Dalton McGuinty, New Brunswick's Shawn Graham and Manitoba's Gary Doer lobbied U.S. contacts in order to propose alternatives to the passport, such as dedicated digital identify documents.

As a result of the new US policy, the demand for passports grew rapidly, creating a backlog which caused lengthy delays. The government then adopted measures to speed up the process.

In 2006, the Harper government announced several enhanced border security measures, including a plan to equip security personnel with weapons in order to be able to act effectively against suspects, including those carrying firearms, near the border (on either side). The guards had requested the weapons in a previous negotiation. The Harper government budgeted over $C100 million for additional staff to patrol borders, including 400 new officers.

Maher Arar

On January 26, 2007, the government announced a compensation worth $11.5 million to Syrian-Canadian Maher Arar due to an error from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The RCMP was blamed for giving misleading information to U.S. officials and suspected him as a possible terrorist threat and a member of the Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda. He was arrested in New York in 2002 and later deported to Syria where he was tortured in a Syrian jail. The government also gave official apologies. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day criticized the U.S. authorities for not removing Arar on a terrorist watch list based on information from the CIA. U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins replied that Canada must not dictate to the United States on who is not allowed in the country.

First meeting with U.S. President Obama

Harper met for the first time, newly sworn US president Barack Obama on February 19, 2009, at the Parliament. During the short meeting, the war in Afghanistan, the struggling economy, fears of protectionism and the environment were the main topics discussed. The Americans did not ask Canada to extend the mission in Afghanistan beyond 2011. Both leaders agreed that the two countries should adopt a shared approach on the ongoing global economic slowdown, as well as tackling the global warming. A "clean-energy dialogue" was also created and Harper told Obama that the plan would commit: " senior officials from both countries to collaborate on the development of clean energy science and technologies that will reduce greenhouse gases and combat climate change".

Arctic lands and waters