Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke to hundreds of supporters in Ottawa on Sunday, taking shots at the previous government as he marked the fifth anniversary of the Conservative Party's defeat of Paul Martin's Liberal regime.

In a speech marking the fifth anniversary of the Conservative Party's first election win, Prime Minister Stephen Harper recounted the highlights of his minority government at a gathering of supporters in Ottawa.In a speech marking the fifth anniversary of the Conservative Party's first election win, Prime Minister Stephen Harper recounted the highlights of his minority government at a gathering of supporters in Ottawa. (CBC)

He said Canadians had lost faith in the Liberals when the Tories won the election on Jan. 23, 2006, partly because of the sponsorship scandal. He then ran down a list of problems he wanted to address.

Harper said that at the time, support for sovereignty was "surging" in Quebec, the armed forces were "neglected and demoralized" and — referring to his government's law-and-order agenda — "victims of crimes were ignored."

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Although Harper has headed a minority government for the past five years, he said back in 2006, Canadians gave the Conservatives "the mandate to shake up Ottawa." He was sworn in as prime minister on Feb. 6, 2006.

"We have been faithful, we kept that trust and we have delivered," he said.

Harper told supporters his government must stay focused on job creation, on the economy and "saying no to raising taxes."

"If we don't have a strong economy, we don't have choices. We're coming through this worldwide recession in better condition and better shape than just about any other country," he said, but added that Canada's future is not "locked down" and the "global recovery is fragile."

The prime minister said despite setbacks caused by the opposition parties, "one day" Canada will have an elected Senate and the Conservatives will get rid of the long-gun registry.

In an interview last week, the CBC's Peter Mansbridge asked Harper whether he thought Canadians would go to the polls this year. Harper said his gut feeling is there's 50-50 chance of that happening.

The opposition will have a chance to force an election after the Conservatives present their next budget, before the end of March.