Stephen Harper's portrait is loaded with secrets and clues. Here are some you likely missed

Canadian artist Phil Richards has said he considers portraiture to be “a collaboration between artist and subject.” Perhaps nowhere is that more clear than in a tiny last-minute change in his newly unveiled portrait of former prime minister Stephen Harper.

The portrait includes many details and Easter eggs (more on that in a moment) but at the very top of the image is a collection of flags, one from New Brunswick, the ancestral home of Harper’s family. Barely visible (it’s a fraction...