Canterbury secured the prized trophy after thumping holders Southland 54-14 at Rugby Park on Saturday.
Canterbury now have the most Ranfurly Shield wins, having won it 17 times.
It is the first time the men in red and black have held the shield since September 2020.
Southland captain Sean Withy said Canterbury were "awesome" and the Stags, who delighted their entire province by claiming the Log o’ Wood from Waikato the previous week, simply ran out of answers.
"A little bit embarrassed, and a little bit disappointed right now with that effort," Withy told Sky Sport after the game.
"But the week we’ve had, and how much it means to our province, is truly special. Just getting around and seeing people in the streets, and schools, and whatnot . . . it’s been pretty awesome.
"I always say we’ve got the best fans in the country and it’s just another week of them showing up for us — just disappointed in the way that that went."
Canterbury went up early thanks to a Corey Kellow try.
They extended their lead in the 13th minute when centre Dallas McLeod’s grubber was collected by winger Ngane Punivai, who turned inside and dished it back to McLeod to score.
Dom Gardiner scored another from a move off the back of a lineout inside the 22m.
Canterbury were hard to put down and they kept on moving.
Inside his own half, Gardiner made a break off a great ball from halfback Louie Chapman.
The ball landed to Punivai, who took off and put it inside to Chapman to finish.
That made it 28-0 to Canterbury.
It was a tough period for Southland, and while the home side responded well and looked threatening in a couple of passages, they were unable to break through, and Canterbury held that commanding advantage at halftime.
Southland struck first in the second half.
Highlanders hooker Jack Taylor spotted a gap off the back of a ruck and went through the middle to score under the sticks.
Byron Smith added the extras to close it to 28-7.
From a messy passage of play, Gardiner charged down a kick and Chapman scooped it up to score for Canterbury.
Lock Jamie Hannah then bustled over for another to push it to 42-7.
George Bell added another try when he broke away from a lineout drive.
Southland scored a stunner of a consolation through Sam Fischli to make it 47-14.
But McLeod intercepted the ball and ran in another for Canterbury.
Canterbury will now put the shield on the line against Tasman this Sunday. If Canterbury win, Otago will get a challenge on September 20.
Hawke’s Bay moved into a tie for third on Saturday with a 45-19 win over Wellington, and Manawatu beat Waikato 36-26.
Yesterday, Bay of Plenty had too much for Taranaki in a 43-17 win, while Caleb Clarke burrowed over in the closing stages for Auckland to finally claim a win, 29-21 over Tasman.
