QuoteThe most compelling part of Stephen Harper's new book, Right Here, Right Now, is that it lives up to its title.



It's not a trip down memory lane, like so many political memoirs, where a politician out to pasture regales the reader with stories of the past.



In fact, this isn't a memoir at all. It's the former Canadian PM's take on the most pressing and hottest public policy issues of the day. And Harper pulls no punches.



Trade, Trump, carbon taxes, open borders — it's all here. Even the NFL protests make a cameo. Whatever your politics, this is the must-read political book of the year.



The chapters that wade through President Donald Trump, Brexit and other populist schisms present Harper as something of an earnest referee in a saga that has been too often fuelled by shoddy reporting and a deliberate misrepresentation of others' motives (like constant unsubstantiated allegations of racism).





Harper's message is simple: Listen to regular people. Don't talk at them or down to them. Their concerns are earnest and legitimate.



When it comes to Canadian politics, Harper has made a point of keeping a low public profile since losing the 2015 federal election to current PM Justin Trudeau. In keeping with the convention practised by former PMs and U.S. Presidents, he's offered no aggressive criticism of his successor. He's only spoken out twice — on the Khadr pay-out and, via a memo to his clients, concerning NAFTA.



For those hoping Right Here, Right Now bucks that trend, they will be somewhat rewarded. Harper does not outright mention Trudeau by name. There is no partisan politics in this book. This solely is a book about issues.



But Trudeau haunts every second page of this book. Because so many of the issues Harper weighs in on are issues Trudeau now faces.



Like how the former PM has zero time for carbon taxes, finding it surprising the number of business people who champion it.



"Such thinking reflects a dangerous disconnect between elite consensus and regular citizens."



Harper describes carbon taxes as revenues tools levied against regular voters that "are not effective at reducing emissions."



The chapter on immigration is more about Trump's wall and the DACA troubles, but it's hard to imagine Harper wrote it without the Roxham Road border crisis — where Trudeau seems to enjoy fanning the flames — coming to mind.



"We are witnessing the liberal left openly embrace extreme views on immigration as a matter of principle," he writes. "The 'open borders' position is the clearest example."



The current PM uses concerns about borders to question peoples' motives and call Conservatives bad names. Harper has a message for those at risk of taking the bait: "We no more need 'closed borders' than we need 'open borders'," he advises.



He elsewhere stresses that "conservatives should remain pro-market, pro-trade, pro-globalization, and pro-immigration at heart... And being pro-immigration should never mean sanctioning the erasure of our borders or ignoring the interests of our citizens."



There are a couple sections that are than thinly veiled digs at Trudeau, ones that the current PM's detractors and Harper supporters will say were a long time coming.



Such as the former PM's insistence that "it is the principal responsibility of national governments to protect and advance the interests of their citizens. The notion that we live in a "post-national" world is theoretically unsound and factually incorrect."



And who was it who famously claimed Canada could become the first post-national state? Trudeau, of course.



While Harper repeatedly speaks positively about immigration, he also stresses the importance of integration. One example he gives of an integration policy that he championed was the updating of the citizenship guide.



"We included, for example, a passage about how female genital mutilation, honour killings, and other similar customs constitute 'barbaric cultural practices'," he writes. "Only politicians seeking support in the darkest corners object to stating such basic norms."



Trudeau had a problem with that wording when in opposition and last year his government removed it.



A recurring theme throughout the book is Harper's concern about the troubling direction society has drifted in recent years. Such as how he decries that "left-wing education systems" have sheltered students from "understanding the real economic and human costs of economic collectivism." Or his worry that "a return to socialist economics in this day and age would take Western countries on a certain, irreversible, long-term decline."



But Right Here, Right Now is not a critical rant.



It's predominantly a story with a positive message to convey, about how earnestly listening to regular peoples' concerns amidst this era of populist disruption can help re-align public policy to the advantage of all.



It's a refreshing change to see a former parliamentarian offer a look forward, rather than tales from the past. It's also a sign that Harper is far from done weighing in on the issues of the day.