Judge grants recount in riding lost by Nova Scotia Liberal leader

CITYnews halifax /By Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press

HALIFAX — There will be judicial recounts in two Nova Scotia ridings after last week’s provincial election, including in a district narrowly lost by Liberal Leader Zach Churchill during the Progressive Conservatives’ landslide victory.

Elections Nova Scotia confirmed Tuesday that at the request of the Liberal party, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia ordered a recount in Yarmouth, where Tory candidate Nick Hilton won by 14 votes over Churchill on Nov. 26. As well, an automatic recount was triggered in the Annapolis riding because the difference between the top two candidates there was less than 10 votes, the elections agency said.

David Sollows, the official agent for Churchill’s campaign, said that while a recount may not change the result, the party felt the move was necessary because of the amount of support Churchill has in the riding. As well, some of the numbers reported from Yarmouth during last Tuesday’s election didn’t align with the final tallies, he added.

“At one point it was I think 5,017 votes for Zach to 5,000 for Nick Hilton … but neither candidate had 5,000 votes,” he said. The final result from Elections Nova Scotia gave Hilton 3,663 votes and Churchill 3,649.

“So really for clarity and for confidence in the integrity of the system it was felt this (recount) was something we needed to do,” Sollows said.

The Liberals suffered a stinging defeat and were replaced as the official Opposition by the NDP, with Churchill’s party barely holding on to official party status after it was reduced to just two seats, losing 12 of the 14 seats it held going into the election campaign.

Meanwhile, Churchill has yet to announce his plans about his immediate political future. The 40-year-old former cabinet minister was elected Liberal leader in July 2022 and has held the riding in his hometown of Yarmouth since a 2010 byelection. He was re-elected in 2013, 2017 and 2021.

In addition to Yarmouth, the Liberals will also await the outcome of the recount in Annapolis where incumbent Liberal Carman Kerr lost to Progressive Conservative David Bowlby by seven votes.

In a news release, Elections Nova Scotia said the recount in Yarmouth will take place Dec. 9 at the Yarmouth Justice Centre, while the recount in Annapolis will be held Dec. 10 at the Annapolis Justice Centre.

Heading into the two recounts, the Progressive Conservatives hold 43 of the 55 seats in the legislature, the NDP has nine seats, the Liberals two and there is one Independent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024.

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press