â€"â€"â€" 2008 Tucson L ‘16,995 Ghian a==, 5 YEAR /100,000 KM MAE NO DEDUCTIBLE Limited 4WD model shown Purchase Financing and i ) ©15,995 Chiong Unfortunately, one of those horses wasn‘t University of Waterloo Federaâ€" tion of Students president Kevin Royal, who was a surprise finalist in the final four after entering the contest just before the deadline for submissions. The contest for Canada‘s Next Great Prime Minister concluded Sunday night on the CBC with a twoâ€"horse race to the finish. The 23â€"yearâ€"old managed to make the initial cut for the CBC TV contest with a viral video about the imporâ€" tance of innovation and entrepreneurâ€" ship to the Waterloo region, and how it served as a model for the rest of Canaâ€" da. "It‘s an exciting place to live and an exciting place to be young," said Royal. Local student politician falls short of his dream to be the next great PM GTP model shown ‘18,995 (2Dae By Bos VRBANAC Chronicle Staff see your local dealer for details. $24,145 MSRP LESS $18,095 MSRP LESS "If someone is interested in entrepreâ€" neurship and innovation, learning about that in Waterloo makes it a great place to live." Royal survived a rigorous bootâ€" camp process to reach the final show where he faced questioning from forâ€" mer prime ministers Paul Martin, Kim Campbell and John Turner as well as "It was unbelievable to make it to the top four and compete in all those challenges." Canada‘s Next Great Prime Minister contestant 8 in §5gf g#: t if} §3 a & queries from current Newfoundland Premier Danny Campbell. In the end, the contest came down to two main contenders: Alika Lafontaine, a Métis physician from Saskatchewan, who had a very touchâ€" ing personal story and made an impasâ€" sioned final plea to the audience, and Pam Hrick, the outgoing president of the Student Federation at the Universiâ€" ty of Ottawa, who impressed everyone with her outgoing nature and her abiliâ€" ty to converse in both official lanâ€" guages. Lafontaine ended up winning the vote in a landslide, while Royal was a distant third. But he said he was happy just to be a part of the process and said the experience might have launched a burgeoning political career. Royal, a Brantford native who now calls Waterloo home, said he decided to throw his hat into the ring of the annual competition created by Frank Stronach, the founder of Magna Interâ€" national, as a bit of a lark. He had no idea what he was getting into and was as surprised as anyone that he was selected for the program and made it to the final four. "It was a lastâ€"minute thing, sort of off the cuff," said Royal. "I did it in one take and shot it at the University of Waterloo‘s campus, so I really didn‘t have any big expectations. "But I‘m a pretty competitive guy, and although I entered the contest on a whim I got into it and the possibility of ." And he proved to be an important voice for innovation and embracing the future of technology and the new economy on the show, broadcast across the country and drawing viewâ€" er‘s input from all the 10 provinces. "It was unbelievable to make it to the top four and compete in all those challenges," said Royal. "It was a lot of fun." Best choice on Friday! Best deals on Saturday! Proceeds Support Local: Scholarships Drop off books, sheet music, CDs, DVDs, commercial video tapes, audio cassettes, and video games at First United Church (back door) on Wednesday, April 16 (Jamâ€"9pm) or Thursday, April 17 (Jamâ€"6pm) For donation information, call: 519â€"740â€"5249 FRIDAY, APRIL 18 Iamâ€"Ipm _ «gt FIRST UNITED CHURCH Corner of King & William,Waterloo USED BOOK SALE SATURDAY, APRIL 19 Iamâ€"1pm 44‘" Annual Canadian Federation of University Women Also: Music & Movies www.cfuwkw.org Continued on page 17