Canada's Stephen Harper-Bush Clone With Regards to Economics

After 13 years in the opposition, Canada's Conservative Party seems poised to return to power after yesterday's election, albeit only as a minority government. The Liberal Party, damaged by a corruption scandal, lost ground but not by as much as most people thought after a intense campaign where Conservative leader Stephen Harper where depicted as a Bush clone. Harper tried to reject the allegations that he would be a Bush stooge, pledging not to send any troops to Iraq (even though he at the time of the invasion favored it) and to take a tough stance in the ongoing U.S.-Canadian trade dispute over softwood lumber.

But with regards to economics, Harper seems eerily similar to Bush. I haven't followed canadian politics until the last week or so and when I first heard that Harper favored reducing the national sales tax, I thought "great", particularly after how conservative Angela Merkel in Germany will in 2007 implement a 3 %:points increase in the value added tax (allegedly to reduce the deficit, but as she at the same time wants increased government "investments", this argument is not convincing). But now I read that Harper also wants "increased funds for health care and child care". He also wants to increase military spending. Cut taxes and increase spending on health care and the military? Now, that is a Bush clone.