I definitely don't disagree with your point, and while I didn't think from your comment that you'd benefit from a reminder of what kind of person Harper is, some people reading these comments might not be as familiar with him.
It's all too easy to fall into the trap of rehabilitating awful politicians from the past when faced with the new generation of awful politicians. I've seen way too many people, even progressives, yearn for the George W. Bush years in the face of the Trump presidency. Like sure, Trump (or Poilievre) might be worse, but that doesn't mean Bush (or Harper) weren't/aren't awful.
I despise Harper as much as anyone, but is this really a result of his awful policies or more so because he happened to be Prime Minister during the 2008 global economic crisis?
Let's not fall into the same trap as the "Fuck Trudeau" crowd, the PM isn't a supreme all-powerful overlord who has full control of the economy. They don't even have that much direct power over the Canadian economy, let alone global factors like the 2008 recession or the COVID-19 pandemic.