Nine years ago Friday, Stephen Harper was first elected prime minister.

Only five prime ministers in our history have lasted this long, but Harper still craves another four years. And he’s got one formidable asset in his corner: Good economic luck.

Amid the hand-wringing over the Bank of Canada’s cut-rate insurance for an oil-soaked economy this week, one obvious political aftershock is clear. It helps the Conservatives more than it hurts them.

Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland will suffer the oilpatch blues. But the western provinces would re-elect Harper under any circumstances while the Rock would not elect him if oil was $200 a barrel and the cod were jumping into the fishing boats.

So there’s no electoral fallout from the oil price crash there.

Which brings us to Ontario. Ailing until now, it seems poised for an industrial resurgence from the loonie collapse and interest rate cut.

The worst campaign scenario for Harper was an economy percolating along on cruise control. It would prevent his government from claiming credit for a boom or seeking a mandate to fix a bust. A flat economy would encourage voters to gamble on change.

Now, as Harper’s luck would have it, Canada’s entering a perfect storm which puts his opposition into a headwind.

There’s economic weakness in areas where the Conservatives are unbeatable. There’s probable economic strength in the Ontario battleground, which could inoculate those crucial voters against a throw-the-bums-out mentality.

With this economic dichotomy and without a vote-shifting scandal, there’s little sign this government is on course to defeat itself, which is the most common cause of a prime minister’s downfall.

The only electoral negative is linked to Friday’s anniversary. Nine years may be enough in many minds, particularly given Harper’s grinding polarizing style of parliamentary politics.

But Harper’s election campaigns have a history of lined up with politically favorable economic cycles. If that lucky streak continues, he’s almost impossible to beat.