I’m not always a fan of my Prime Minister, but I usually enjoy his candid takes.

Mr. Harper said he was not surprised to see the Venezuelan leader strike up a relationship with Mr. Obama.

“My observation: President Chávez is a character, and notwithstanding his hard-line ideology that I am a firm opponent of — be under no illusion about that — he’s actually an affable and gregarious and open personality,” Mr. Harper said. “And for whatever reason, he seems in a particularly good mood this weekend, and we’re all grateful for that.”