Your premise is wrong.  
Harper, like me, believed the social programs are primarily a provincial responsibility and wanted the federal government out the implementation of those programs.  That  makes sense as having 2 sets of government setting program guidelines, verifying spending is within guidelines and evaluating programs, just doubles the number of bureaucrats and administration expenses.
Harper, regardless of what you read in the press, kept funding provincial programs through the Canada Health Transfer (increasing a 6% per year declining to a minimum 3% per year - same as Trudeau is adopting), Canada Social Transfers, Equalization and various other programs. 
However, as Chretien and Martin taught us, the federal government can't be trusted to maintain their share of cost shared programs.  They cut billions of dollars from transfers to the provinces (hitting Ontario and Alberta hardest). 
Tax points transfer is a far better way to fund provincial programs.