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So what was the issue of principle that convinced Ms Stronach that, for the sake of national unity, she should replace Lucienne Robillard as Minister of Human Resources? How did she finally decide that Stephen Harper did not fully appreciate the "complexities" of the country? According to this Globe report, it was because he wouldn't let her go on TV:

[T]he seeds may have been planted the week before, when Ms. Stronach was summoned by Conservative Leader Stephen Harper to his Rockcliffe mansion, Stornoway. That call was prompted by controversial remarks she'd made to The Globe and Mail earlier that week, warning against triggering an election over a budget that promised critical infrastructure money to her Ontario riding. Mr. Harper, it seemed, was not pleased with her comments. The private joke among some Tories was that she had been summoned to "see the principal." A Tory insider says that Ms. Stronach also found out -- it is not clear whether she was actually told at this meeting -- that she was being frozen out of appearances in any election ads.

I think we can assume this is more or less true; the author is a reporter of unusual reliability.