The best for us was, ironically, Stephen Harper.
The re-negotiation of the Atlantic Accord is the single most important and beneficial thing the federal government has ever done for Newfoundland and Labrador. We basically got what many Scots hoped of independence without having to leave the federation. The key bits of the renegotiated agreement are:
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Newfoundland and Labrador already receives and will continue to receive 100 per cent of offshore resource revenues as if these resources were on land;
the Government of Canada intends to provide additional offset payments to the province in respect of offshore-related Equalization reductions, effectively allowing it to retain the benefit of 100 per cent of its offshore resource revenues.
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Danny Williams promised no more give-aways, and Harper - though opposed to it in opposition - eventually agreed and didn't turn back the settlement. Also, he did not insist on the clause that Paul Martin's Liberals had inserted that Newfoundland was prohibited from ever equaling or exceeding the wealth per capita of Ontario, and should that happen that all additional revenues would be clawed back by the federal government. That single agreement changed the fortunes of Newfoundland and Labrador, and instantly turned us into a "have province".
This corrected what had been viewed as a great injustice here: that we remained poor while our tremendous resource wealth was invested elsewhere in the federation.
As Danny Williams' throne speech at the time declared:
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"Our people are proud nationalists who believe it is only by affirming our identity as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians that we will realize our goal of economic equality within the federation," Lt.-Gov. Ed Roberts read in a speech Tuesday afternoon.
"Our people are ready to take charge of our future and, under [Premier Danny Williams's] leadership, our province will achieve self-reliance by becoming masters of our own house," the speech said.
The phrase "masters of our own house" was presented in bold text in the throne speech.
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfou...lares-1.647371
One simply can't over-state the tremendous importance of this decision. Its impact is greater than everything else combined - the Trans Canada Highway, the social welfare system, the healthcare system. None of it impacts here as significantly as the renegotiated Atlantic Accord.
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Harper was also responsible for a second major benefit to Newfoundland and Labrador - this one not quite as valuable financially but even more valuable emotionally.
His federal loan guarantee made the development of the Lower Churchill's hydroelectric potential significantly more affordable, enabling us to retain control of the project and not suffer another great loss as happened with the Upper Churchill. That was one of the single greatest strains on Canada-Newfoundland relations, and the bitterness has been weakened by this new agreement.
As our then-Premier, Kathy Dunderdale, put it:
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Our experience in confederation with Canada has included some challenges: the stigma of being the poorest province in the union, the bitterness of the Upper Churchill injustice, the resentment of a decimated fishery and the anger of not having our voice heard within the federation. However, today represents a significant shift in our relationship with the federal government. We are now a full partner in the federation of Canada.
For the first time in a very long time, the legitimate aspirations of the people of this province have been heard, considered and acknowledged as important.
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http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releas...12/1217s01.htm
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Of course, he'll never be voted as such here. Nor should he be - he's, by a significant margin, Canada's least popular Prime Minister ever in this province. But the, let's say "provinces' rights" aspect of his political ideology easily makes him the most beneficial we've ever had.
If any other political party had been in power instead of him, we'd still be a "have-not province", with all the injustice that entails given our vast resource wealth, and the Lower Churchill would almost certainly have never received a federal loan guarantee.
And I know some in the opposition have been saying they'd do the same, but they had 65 years and never tried.
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Beyond that, our best was Edward Patrick Morris (1909-1917).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_...t_Baron_Morris
He greatly reduced crown control of public lands, expanded the railway, and presided over an especially prosperous time for Newfoundland until WWI. During WWI, he - largely successfully, and in many areas of the province, for the very first time in history - united Catholics and Protestants.
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