First - You have to hand it to AC to go out and give away >100 free tickets ex LHR to Canada.
Now - I've been to this pub a few times. Mostly, it was for the old full-block parties on Canada day(that stopped after 2005). However, for the most part, I have not really seen a lot of Canadians there. How did they get the bar full, who knew about it, etc. It all seemed a little bit staged (although I don't think it was all an act).
I think for AC it's an easy one too as there is so much capacity ex-LHR that you could even give away 1,000 tickets and get everyone out by XMAS.
What I am thinking however, is that many of us on here, if we were to have won the ticket - - would have wanted to figure out how we could get upgraded, if it booked into B-Class and if we could manipulate AC.com to get our e-certs to confirm an upgrade in advance into P-Class . . etc .etc etc. . . and if we ultimately had to fly economy, we would probably just not go!!! ;-)
Good job AC - - I think it was a pretty good idea and it will definitely help out a few people with getting to Canada for a wonderful family event.