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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The last episode of CBC's 'The Next Great Prime Minister' will be broadcast tonight without Yellowknife political wunderkind Dan Wong among the final four contestants.

The Sir John Franklin graduate and master's degree candidate in political science at the University of British Columbia didn't make the first cut that narrowed the field of contenders for the $50,000 prize to more than 100 applicants.

Contest organizers excluded anyone who had run in a federal, provincial or civic election. Wong ran for Yellowknife Centre in the 2003 territorial election and thinks that may have disqualified him from the competition, although he never heard that from CBC.

A Green Party candidate in the last federal election who sought to enter the contest was disqualified and is suing the public broadcaster. Wong is annoyed by the lack of communication from CBC but doesn't have any legal action in mind, he said.

The winner will be chosen by a panel that includes former prime ministers Brian Mulroney, Joe Clark, Kim Campbell and Paul Martin.

"I looked at some of the candidate profiles, and they weren't that impressive, but some are very intense," said Wong, who would have used the prize to finance doctoral studies.

Overall though, Wong said the contest was a good experience and he is grateful for the support he received for his bid from deputy premier Michael Miltenberger and the head of the UBC political science department.