Earlier this week, Premier Harris announced that he will resign his post next spring as soon as the PC Party of Ontario chooses his successor. While the handicapping of leadership aspirants is best left to the pundits, it is appropriate to look at why he has chosen to take his leave from the second highest elected office in the land.

His departure is a function of policy, politics and personal issues.

On the policy front, Mr. Harris has basically accomplished what he set out to do in 1995. Along with former finance minister Ernie Eves, Ontario recovered from the $10 billion deficits left to us by the "Peterson-Rae lost decade" to a position, first of balanced budgets (by law, thanks to the CTF), and now, fiscal surpluses.

Ontario's economy - partly as a result of the Common Sense Revolution and partly due to free trade - is now more dynamic and diversified than ever before. Provincial debt is on the decline and personal and corporate tax levels are competitive with other provinces and the Great Lakes States.

On the social policy front, the jury is still out. Reforms in health care and education, not to mention, provincial downloading, are still working their way through the system.

It will be another four or five years before we have a true picture of this side of Premier Harris' legacy. Moreover, what Mr. Harris' successor does or does not do on various social policy files will also be attributed to his legacy.

Moving to the realm of politics, it appears that Mr. Harris is attempting to revive the tradition of PC premiers of the past. For the 42 years the Ontario conservatives ruled uninterrupted, each generation brought with it a new leader. From 1943 to 1985, the PC party had five leaders (Drew, Kennedy, Frost, Robarts and Davis) who all served as Premier.

On average, each leader served for just over eight years as Premier. When Mike Harris officially steps down next spring it will be 12 years as leader and seven as Premier.

While Harris' critics were dancing in the streets this week (sadly some of his more ardent critics were rioting like thugs and goons in Toronto, which only serves to belittle their message), they should not be so quick to celebrate. His policies will no doubt largely live on, especially if Finance Minister Jim Flaherty or Health Minister Tony Clement (both rumoured to be interested in the job) are successful in next spring's leadership race.

As for those who say he left office running from disastrous polls, a few important points should be kept in mind. Mike Harris took over a bankrupt party in 1990 and within five years brought it to government. He did something not recently seen in Canadian politics: he laid out a plan of action for government and he stuck to it and actually kept his promises. He left his party with - by some reports - almost $20 million in the bank with which it can fight three more elections. So the quitter tag is just way off base.

Reports indicate that Mike Harris has recently reconciled with his wife after a two-year separation and that he is anxious to return to being a full-time father to his two boys, aged 16 and 9. Which brings us to the final reason for his departure, personal issues.

This week, Mike Harris made the most important decision of his political career. He decided that being a committed husband and father was more important than being the premier of the province. Mr. Harris will continue to serve as MPP for Nipissing until the next election. From a fiscal perspective, he has made a valuable contribution not only to Ontario, but to Canada as well. He deserves our thanks.