When did Stephen Harper ask for prorogation?

Answer 1

Prorogation is the technical title for ending the current parliamentary session without dissolving Parliament, which is normally done when the government feels they have completed their agenda and want to start fresh. This is not to be confused with when Parliament goes on recess for the summer, which does not in and of itself end a session.

Stephen Harper has asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament 3 times:

• In the 39th Parliament:
  • September 14, 2007 to October 16, 2007
• In the 40th Parliament:
  • December 4, 2008 to January 26, 2009
  • December 30, 2009 to March 3, 2010

Both prorogations in the 40th Parliament were controversial, the first having been used to prevent a no-confidence motion, and the second allegedly having been used to avoid embarrassment during the Winter Olympics over the Afghan detainee issue, though the official reason was to "consult Canadians about the economy". In both cases, many incomplete bills were dropped.

Answer 2

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament on December 4, 2008, until January 26, 2009, and again between December 30, 2009 until March 3, 2010.

This type of prorogation was highly unusual. Until recently, nearly all Canadian governments had waited for parliamentary business to wind down before asking the Governor-General to prorogue Parliament.

This is because when Parliament is prorogued, any outstanding bills and other business is cancelled. A cancelled bill has to be restarted from scratch. Years of work getting that bill through Parliament could go down the drain. When Harper prorogued Parliament, dozens of laws had to be reintroduced from scratch or were dropped altogether.

Before World War II, prorogation used to be much more common. This was because it took much more time for Members of Parliament to return to their home ridings and touch base. At that time, sessions of Parliament lasted about half a year, and prorogations lasted the other half. Prorogation took place after all parliamentary business had been dealt with and the session could be shut down.