... although there's a great discussion to be had about free health care making it much easier to be a startup/entrepreneur/freelancer.
So while you take issue with your PM at least Canada is in a much better situation financially because all their sides worked together.
1. Harper wants to cut both spending & taxes, and at the moment is concentrating on cutting the spending. That's probably so he can deliver his tax cuts just before the next election. OTOH Bush cut taxes and increased spending.
2. Harper cut defense spending in his last budget.
Not that I'd ever vote for him, but at least he's behaving more rationally fiscally conservative than his American counterparts.