Harper Watch - #51 Why Do You Want To Get Hitched? Fear.

xtra.ca brings us a countdown of 60 of the ways Harper is reshaping Canada in his own image.

When the Cons were polling behind the Liberals — despite the sponsorship scandal — we were cool as cucumbers. That was December 2005. Then it began to look like a Conservative government in the first days of 06.

And in the final days, pundits were predicting a Conservative majority government.

Gays got scared. Harper had promised to try to repeal gay marriage. Hence, the gay Harper-shotgun wedding was born, making the weekend of Jan 20, 2006 one of the busiest weekends for gay nuptials since the practice was legalized.

Around the xtra.ca offices, we're not big fans of marriage to begin with, so that Harper actually encouraged some of us to tie the knot doesn't sit well with us.

And of course, Harper's very real ability to give the gay community a collective ulcer is one more reason he gets a failing grade.

LINK: Xtra.ca-Marcus McCann - "SHHH. Soccer moms are softening on Harper. That doesn't mean he's not making SoCon ideological moves. He's just doing it quietly!"