Sorry, no winners here

Thanks to all who voted, supported, and sent good wishes regarding the Best Canadian Political Books of the Last 25 Years contest.  But 1867 ain't the winner.

On the weekend, I hazarded the guess that, this being internet voting, the likeliest winners were Shakedown by Ezra Levant and On the Take by Stevie Cameron.  I have not read either, but they seemed like the most anti-government, anti-politics books on the list. I figured that might well fit the mood of the voters.

Sure enough, Levant's Shakedown (a critique of Human Rights Commission as overzealous, meddling and hostile to free speech) is the winner.  Cameron's On the Take (a critique of Brian Mulroney and all who surrounded him) is one of the runners-up.  Congratulations to Ezra Levant, Stevie C., and the other runners-up Lawrence Martin and John Duffy. Full details here.

In other book prize news, the Giller Prize has announced that one of its short- long-list titles will be determined by internet voting.  Good luck to Ezra Levant with that one too.  It's been fun, but on the whole being on the receiving end of an internet ballot sustains my faith in representative, rather than direct, democracy.