When he lost patience with Preston Manning’s populist policies in the mid-1990s and resigned as a Calgary Reform MP, Stephen Harper found work as vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition.
Now, the conservative NCC stands in opposition to much of what Conservative prime minister Harper does.
It opposes his deficits, his government spending increases, his failure to tackle health-care privatization and his tendency to maintain the status quo on many issues.
“When it comes to the economy, this government is simply not acting conservative enough,” the NCC said in a national advertisement published March 20, the day before the 2013 federal budget.
Read Also
Alberta Crop Report: Two sides of the same weather coin
Wet weather in the northern half of Alberta and dry weather in the south delayed harvest across the province during the week ended Aug. 19, 2025.
In the ad, the NCC added an agricultural plank to its platform of budget demands — supply management — even though it is not a drain on public finances and is designed to draw farm income from the market through stable and administered prices rather than through government financial payments.
“If Canada hopes to increase trade with other countries, we must eliminate outdated supply management boards,” it said. “Canada’s dairy marketing boards result in higher prices on basic staples like milk, cheese and yogurt for hard-working taxpayers.”
The NCC said eliminating the Canadian Wheat Board single desk “was an important first step. Now it is time to dismantle supply management boards across the country.”
In contrast, the day before the NCC ad was published, agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was at the Chicken Farmers of Canada annual meeting to pledge the government’s continuing support for supply management in trade negotiations and debate with domestic critics.
To underscore the point, CFC chair David Janzen used his message in the organization’s annual report published March 19 to praise Ritz and trade minister Ed Fast “for their unwavering support of the Canadian chicken industry and supply management, both domestically and internationally.”
Instead of lobbying a policy friend, the NCC clearly is preaching to the unconverted on supply management.
