Source: Globe and Mail

Who wants to be Canada's next prime minister? Besides Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, not many, it seems, as a reality television contest that pits young politicos-in-the-making against each other had to resort to cold-calling contestants this year to fill out the ranks.

The CBC competition Canada's Next Great Prime Minister, which takes place online and will culminate in a one-hour reality TV special March 18, is open to contestants between the ages of 18 and 25. Evolving from an essay-writing competition that began in 1995 and sponsored by auto-parts maker Magna International, the show seeks to find the contestant who has the most inspired grasp of Canadian policies – and would make a good future PM.

Paid internships, including one with the Canada-U.S. Fulbright program, as well as a $50,000 first prize, are up for grabs. But what if few have any prime-ministerial ambitions?

That's what the CBC contest faced when it found it had an exceedingly low number of entrants as the application deadline approached in November. Last year, the TV special was a success, with solid ratings and strong media interest, inevitably focused on the panel of jurors composed of three former prime ministers (Paul Martin, Kim Campbell and John Turner) and one provincial premier (Newfoundland's Danny Williams).

But there was a scramble to make up this year's numbers.

One contestant, Camille Labchuk, daughter of PEI Green Party Leader Sharon Labchuk, said a CBC associate producer told her that, a week before the entry deadline, only a dozen or so people had applied. At least one CBC producer started contacting political parties to look for contestants. At the urging of a producer, Ms. Labchuk applied. But then things, as in real politics, got murky.

In the zeal to make up the numbers, an important contest rule was broken. It involved the fact that Ms. Labchuk and at least two other contestants had actually run for office.

Ms. Labchuk, now 24, was a Green Party candidate in the Moncton riding of Riverview-Dieppe in the 2006 election. She also worked as a press secretary for the Green Party and for national party leader Elizabeth May until last fall.

Ms. Labchuk asked the CBC producer whether her prior federal bid barred her from entering. Contest rules say former election candidates cannot enter. According to an e-mail provided by Ms. Labchuk, the producer wrote that he would have to check with a senior producer. But then the next day, he wrote back, "You're good to go!"

So Ms. Labchuk entered the online portion. However, she found herself kicked off last Friday because of her past election run. Now she's angry and considering legal action, even though the CBC has apologized.

"Yes, it's true that in the early days of the recruitment, the producers – or associate producers actually – were contacting various political organizations … and were trying to encourage people to join …" CBC spokesman Jeff Keay said.

He added that at least two other candidates were removed for the same reason: "I want to emphasize that the mistake was ours, and we apologize for it. And we apologized to her."

Ms. Labchuk, meanwhile, is now rallying supporters on a larger forum: Facebook.

© Globe and Mail

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There were more contestants this year than last year for the CBC competition Canada's Next Great Prime Minister. Because of an editing change, a story yesterday may have left an incorrect impression.