Harper has finally figured out a way to deal with Quebec in a fair but forceful manner If you heard Stephen Harper's victory speech, where he reached out to all those who had voted against him, especially to those in Quebec, an odd thought might just have popped into your head: "Stephen Harper, in the end, might just turn out to be one of Canada's greatest Prime Minister." In the speech, Harper moved easily back and forth between French and English, one more sign that he's not the snippy, blinkered politician he was five years ago when he first took office. He's grown in the job. He's certainly become far more crafty. For example, he greatly upset some Quebec voters when he decided not to fund the Quebec arena, but he also started to redefine his party's relationship with Quebec in a fundamental but reasonable manner. The Quebec arena debate was a defining moment for Harper and also a signifier of a better way forward with Quebec. For months, ever since his Quebec MPs had foolishly worn Nordiques sweaters to a pro-arena press conference, Harper had tried to find some way to fund that arena and not cause his own conservative base in the rest of Canada to mutiny. But there was no way. Most conservatives simply go beserk at the thought of public money going to help billionaire owners and millionaire players. So Harper had to choose between his budget-crunching base and easy popularity in Quebec. In the end,