With voting now closed in eight provinces, we’re ready to crown a handful of winners in the Best Premier Contest.<\/p>\n
Ontario <\/a>featured the most exciting race. After leading for most of the contest, Harris fell behind in the three way duel, setting up John Robarts<\/span> and Oliver Mowatt<\/span> in the final. Alas, we were denied the opportunity to see a 19th<\/span> century Premier in this contest and John Roberts eeked<\/span> it out by a 2,745 to 2,700 vote.<\/p>\n In BC, Dave Barrett got a late last day surge<\/a>, to overtake the man who probably should have won, WAC Bennet<\/span>, 657-579 on the eight ballot.<\/p>\n While BC had vote stuffing from the left, in Saskatchewan, Grant Devine<\/span> held off a late surge <\/a>by Greatest Canadian Tommy Douglas, to take the crown. I’m not sure why the Tories felt Devine<\/span> was their man to knock off Tommy but, to each his own.<\/p>\n Barrett will be joined by fellow Dipper Ed Schreyer<\/span>, who emerged from a series of knock<\/span>-out matches to take the Manitoba crown<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Alberta, it’s Peter Lougheed<\/span><\/a>, famous for his fights with Trudeau and the creation of the Heritage fund, who will be representing Wild Rose country in the national competition.<\/p>\n Despite low voter turn-out, Alex Campbell emerged as the PEI champion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another Liberal Premier from the 60s will be representing New Brunswick after Louis Robichaud’s<\/span><\/a> win there.<\/p>\n In fact, Atlantic Canada has been painted red, with Angus Macdonald<\/span> taking the Nova Scotia<\/span> crown<\/a>.<\/p>\n