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Mike Harris was the best of any premier in Canada since 1981, according to rankings produced by a new conservative think-tank.

The two guys behind the rankings by Aha! Insights are Mark Mullins and Mark Milke, two former Fraser Institute people. In their assessment, Pauline Marois of Quebec was the worst of 59 premiers whose records they looked at, and Alberta’s Peter Lougheed was second-worst. Ontario’s current premier Kathleen Wynne is the worst of those now in office.

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So, uh, hmm. Let’s break this down. As in any attempt to rank politicians, Mullins and Milke picked some qualities they consider important. Specifically economic success (as measured by things like the unemployment rate and people moving from other provinces) and the pursuit of small government (balanced budgets, shrinking government spending as a share of the economy, and so on.)

Of course they’re free to value whatever they like in a premier, but these choices yield some odd results.