Stephen Harper to step down as Conservative leader

CALGARY – Stephen Harper’s string of election victories has come to an end with the Conservative Party reduced to opposition status and the prime minister preparing to step down as its chief.

Harper did not mention his decision when speaking to party supporters in Calgary — saying only that the responsibility for his party’s disappointment rests with him.

But a statement from party president John Walsh says Harper has asked him to reach out to his much smaller parliamentary caucus to request they choose an interim replacement.

Harper said tonight that the Conservatives gave everything they had to give in this election campaign — and they have no regrets.

He says the results were not what the party hoped for — but he accepts them without hesitation because the people are never wrong.

Harper also says he spoke by phone to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau to offer his congratulations and to offer his full co-operation in the transition of government over the coming days.

The grousing about what happened to the Conservatives and who should shoulder the blame has already begun.

One party source blames a bad campaign and Harper fatigue while Jason Kenney — one of the few Harper cabinet ministers who were re-elected — says the change narrative being presented by the other parties was just too strong for Harper to beat back.

Kenney won’t comment on whether he will be a leadership candidate but says the party needs a conservatism that is “sunnier and more optimistic than what we have sometimes conveyed.”