With that slim of a margin Harper is going to have to tread softly and moderate his stance if he expects to accomplish anything of note. Back in the Trudeau era minority governments were almost the norm and the NDP subsequently had a significant influence on what could be passed since they generally controlled the swing vote (in many instances what was passed often had a very NDP-like flavour). Although Harper may wish to swing Canada closer in step with Bush's policies it is doubtful that he will be at all successful -- I wouldn't be overly concerned.
In all, minority governments can be a good thing since they generally require the party in power to moderate itself; conversely, issues that require relatively quick, decisive action may be left hanging over long. The former is a distinct advantage that a parliamentary system has over the U.S. system; the latter can be an advantage in instances where significant power is held by the executive branch -- of course, the decisions made may well be ill-considered or overly partisan.
