New Canadian Conservative Leader Shows Determination and Strength

OTTAWA (CP) - U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins clearly struck a nerve with prime minister-designate Stephen Harper when he criticized the Conservative plan to bolster Canada's presence in the Arctic.
"I want to address one other question before I go," Harper said Thursday in response to an unasked question as a lengthy session with reporters wound down.
"I've been very clear in the campaign that we have significant plans for national defense and for defense of our sovereignty, including Arctic sovereignty. It is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the U.S. ambassador."
The issue of jurisdiction over the frozen archipelago and iceberg-cluttered waterways is clearly heating up in Ottawa and Washington.
An expert in Arctic defense and sovereignty predicted that the issue will become a sore point in relations between the Bush administration and the newly elected Harper government - which had campaigned in part on a warmer rapport with Washington.
"The sovereignty of the Northwest Passage is a red button issue for Canadian political leaders and for the Canadian public," said Rob Huebert of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary.

Although this pundit doesn't necessary support this political maneuver - I am delighted to see Harper demonstrating his strength, determination, and desire for a stronger and better federalist Canada in a first days after election, even before being sworn in as a prime minister. I applaud Mr. Harper, conservatives are in to stay.