VZCZCXRO5258
OO RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHMT RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #0072 0261656
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 261656Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9024
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000072 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O.: 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR CA
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER HARPER'S POPULAR WIFE 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Laureen Harper, wife of Prime Minister Stephen 
Harper, plays no formal public role (unlike the U.S. First Lady), 
but those close to the family have described her as politically 
engaged and as her husband's most valuable political asset. 
Extroverted and friendly, she is widely credited for "softening" her 
more reserved husband's political image. End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Laureen Ann Harper (nee Teskey) was born on June 23, 1963, 
the eldest of three children, in Turner Valley, a rural community of 
about 1,600 residents southwest of Calgary, Alberta.  Her parents, 
who divorced in 1991, ranched and owned an electrical contracting 
company. She attended Calgary's Southern Alberta Institute of 
Technology to study journalism and photography.  She married New 
Zealander Neil Fenton (with whom she backpacked across Africa for 
six months) in 1985, but they divorced in 1988. 
 
A POLITICAL ASSET 
------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) Passionate about politics since her teens, Laureen Harper 
joined the Reform Party (the forerunner of the Conservative Party of 
Canada) in the late 1980s; she met Stephen Harper at a Reform 
meeting in Saskatoon in 1991.  They married in December 1993.  Some 
of Stephen Harper's earliest political colleagues, including his 
first boss and later fellow Reform MP Deborah Grey (who introduced 
the couple), have credited Mrs. Harper with "mellowing" her husband, 
"balancing his serious side" and helping solidify his image as a 
family man.  Described as personable, free-spirited, and with 
considerable personal charm, Mrs. Harper is a pro at working a room, 
and many observers believe her to be more at ease in front of 
cameras and strangers than her husband.  She is also the 
self-confessed "mouthy one," with strong opinions on a wide variety 
of issues.  However, Mrs. Harper reportedly made a deliberate 
decision not to carve out her own public role. 
 
ARTISTIC INTERESTS 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (U) For a number of years, Mrs. Harper ran her own successful 
graphic design company in Calgary, but gave it up to concentrate on 
her family and to support her husband's political career as leader 
of the then-opposition Conservative Party of Canada when the family 
moved to Ottawa in 2002.  Mrs. Harper loves animals, especially 
cats, and has offered her home (including the Prime Minister's 
residence) to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 
(SPCA) and the Humane Society as a foster home for kittens.  In her 
spare time, she enjoys riding her motorcycle (a blue and white 
Yamaha XT22 that she bought in 2005), jewellery-making, gardening, 
and art.  She is the Honorary Chair of the National Arts Centre 
(NAC) Gala Committee in Ottawa and is active with the organization. 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) The Harpers have two school age children, Ben (born 1996) and 
Rachel (1999).  Ben is an avid Toronto Maple Leafs hockey fan and 
plays peewee hockey.  Rachel enjoys dance. 
BREESE