Prime Minister Stephen Harper at work in his Ottawa office. (Canadian Press)

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been named Canadian newsmaker of the year — for the second straight year — in an annual survey of news organizations by The Canadian Press.

But Harper didn't run away with the honour. He earned 24 per cent of the votes cast to edge out Blackberry billionaire Jim Balsillie, who got 19 per cent after his unsuccessful effort to bring another National Hockey League hockey franchise to Canada.

Two high-profile international events bookended Harper's year: welcoming the immensely popular U.S. President Barack Obama to Ottawa in February and making an overdue sojourn to China in December. Both generated mainly positive reviews.

Harper began the year facing huge political potholes at home but opted to hit the road internationally — a time-honoured coping mechanism of Canadian prime ministers.

Visits to New York, China and India all helped to burnish Harper's image as a trusted economic helmsman in a time of financial crisis.

Faron Ellis, a Lethbridge College political scientist, said 2009 was the year Harper became more prime ministerial, shining on the international stage without appearing stuffy and aloof.

Other notable contenders for top newsmaker included Victoria (Tori) Stafford (11 per cent), the young girl from Woodstock, Ont., whose April abduction and murder shocked the country, and Dr. David Butler-Jones (11 per cent), the chief public health officer who became a household name to Canadians in the throes of a flu pandemic.