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PM Stephen Harper likely itching to work with a Romney/Ryan White House

You have to believe that the duo of Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty are salivating at the chance to work with a Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan White House.

Certainly, Harper has had an amicable relationship with President Barack Obama — the two leaders seem to get along and have made some headway on issues such as perimeter security and international trade.

But most would agree a Romney regime would be better for Canada's economy.

"Romney understands small business and big business and, historically, he knows the heart and soul of the Canadian motor industry because he grew up in Michigan where his dad was an auto industry executive," John Kirton, a political science professor from the University of Toronto recently told Global News.

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"Romney is the ultimate border boy and the last U.S. president to come out of Michigan was Gerald Ford who was very good to Canada's economy."

Romney's vice president candidate, Paul Ryan, is also cut from the same cloth.

As chronicled by the Huffington Post, Ryan is a supporter of the Keystone XL pipeline and has praised the Tories' decision to cut Canada's corporate tax rate to 15 per cent, pointing to the U.S. rate of 35 per cent as increasingly noncompetitive.

Ryan is best known as the architect of the House GOP's budget proposal — a proposal reportedly endorsed by Flaherty.

Here's a simple guide to Ryan's economic plan as quoted in the introduction to his report:

A Roadmap for America's Future 2.0 is a comprehensive alternative to the heavily government-centered ideology now prevailing in Washington. It has been updated to reflect the dramatic decline in our nation's economic and fiscal condition since its introduction in 2008 — while still achieving the following goals: 1) providing health and retirement security for all Americans; 2) lifting the debt burden from future generations; and 3) promoting American job creation and competitiveness.

Sound familiar?

And yes, like Harper and Flaherty, Ryan has 'Tea Party' tendencies. He is, however, a pragmatist — again, just like Harper and Flaherty.

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According to Konrad Yakabuski of the Globe and Mail, the so-called budget hawk supported, among other things, the auto and bank bailouts, an expensive prescription drug program for seniors and a vastly expanded federal role in education. That hardly makes him a rigid ideologue.

It seems that the Harper government has found its other half. They won't say it publicly, but we all know who they'll be pulling for come November 6.