[2] A native of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Best earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a diploma in journalism from the University of King's College in Halifax and also did post-graduate work in public administration before moving to Ottawa.
After the Ben Johnson steroid scandal, Best was appointed to a three-member panel to examine the future of sport in Canada.
[5] Best arrived in Ottawa in 1949 to launch a 49-year career as a union activist, senior public servant and, eventually, high commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago.
In 1999, he was a member of the Treasury Board President's task force on the participation of visible minorities in the federal public service.
[6] According to his son Jamie Best, his father could have played professional baseball, hockey or basketball, but when he was young, there were no coloured people in sports.