Canada extended its congratulations Saturday to Ghana's presidential victor John Atta Mills, and praised the country's outgoing head John Agyekum Kufuor for leaving Ghana "freer and more prosperous."

"We congratulate the newly elected president, John Atta Mills, for this victory, and his opponent, Nana Akufo Addo, for the manner in which he responded to the results," Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a statement.

"We commend President John Agyekum Kufuor, who is leaving office, as prescribed by the Constitution, with a freer and more prosperous Ghana as his legacy," he added.