But it's in the area of foreign policy that Harper is most remarkable. In September he told Canadians on the country's biggest television news show that "Islamism" was the greatest threat to their security. That's incredibly rare and bold these days, anywhere in the world. His government boycotted the Hamas government in Gaza before any other, thus enabling Canada to punch well above its weight while the genuine big boys in the ring were still dancing around the ropes. Canada used to be almost unaligned on the Middle East, but is now considered one of Israel's firmest allies. While Obama's Washington often treats Binyamin Netanyahu like an irritant, Harper's Ottawa treats him like a brother.

There's an anecdote that when Harper  was a boy his father told him: "If ever you are in a position to help the Jewish people, make sure you do." It's touching and poignant, but also difficult to explain. The Harpers are not, as some suggest, Christian Zionists, they did not live in a particularly Jewish area, and Harper himself was not influenced by a Jewish mentor. As his immigration minister Jason Kenney, a serious Roman Catholic and an ardent supporter of Israel, told me, "We are on the side of democracy and freedom, and against terrorism and oppression. It's pretty straightforward really." Straightforward perhaps, but breathtakingly refreshing.

Harper has also built a far better relationship with the United States, his ministers have openly criticised China's treatment of political dissidents, and he is making sure that the new India knows that Canada is a particularly close friend. The Iraq War started before Harper was in power, but it's likely that if he had been prime minister at the time the Canadians would have been part of the alliance. Canadian forces are certainly in Afghanistan and have suffered heavy casualties. Harper has also invested deeply in the military, and just this past summer restored the word "Royal" to the armed forces, after it was   expunged a generation ago.

Most important of all, he has made the Conservatives the party to beat, changed the political narrative, and allowed genuinely and ideologically conservative young people to enter politics and care about change. He is certainly not perfect, and many of his supporters would prefer more rapid and radical change. But Canada is a far greater political entity than it was before the realist Stephen Harper. He's only 52; odd, with what he's achieved you'd think he was much older.