Harper inherited a 13 B surplus which he quickly turned into a deficit and ran huge deficits for his entire tenure even though oil and commodity prices were sky high.

The Harper government was a calamity for the economy. They ballooned the debt more than any other government in Canadian history .He removed regulations s that protected integrity of Canadian banks and the mortgage industry to align them with the lack of regulation south if the border with the Bush neocons When it became clear what a disaster was unfolding there he  he reversed course.

All his instincts and initiatives were ideology driven and wrong headed,and his government was a disaster for the economy and was bent to benefit the oiligarchs who were his constituency.