CP: Harper to be absent as Clark joins Parliament's walk of fame

[tuvor]

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Sources close to the former and current prime ministers say that no effort has been made to find an alternate date - and that neither man is terribly disappointed to have avoided sharing a stage.

The two have never masked their disdain for each other, their mutual sentiment serving as a lingering reminder of the 15-year cleavage in Canada's conservative movement.

While most former Progressive Conservatives quickly joined the fold of the new Conservative Party of Canada, Clark bitterly opposed the merger with the Canadian Alliance and continued to be a critic of the party's chosen leader.

For his part, Harper considered Clark an implacable obstacle to creating a united party, and in fact viewed him as more of a small-l liberal than a conservative.

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http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5g39MwydpsZLvXap7Lp1jLI4hnzMA