Liberals request recount in Yarmouth after party leader Zach Churchill's election loss

The campaign for Liberal Leader Zach Churchill has requested a judicial recount following his defeat in last week's provincial election, although his official agent does not expect the result to change.

Churchill lost by 14 votes in the electoral district of Yarmouth to Progressive Conservative challenger Nick Hilton. It was one of 14 seats the Liberals dropped in the election, which saw them fall to third place with just two seats in the Nova Scotia Legislature.

The recount will take place on Dec. 9 at 9:30 a.m. at the Yarmouth Justice Centre, Elections Nova Scotia said in a news release on Tuesday. 

David Sollows, Churchill's official agent, said there were glitches that caused problems with computer systems in Yarmouth during the campaign, and numbers being reported on election night were at times not in step with the final tallies.

At one point late in the evening, numbers from Elections Nova Scotia showed Churchill and Hilton both with 5,000 votes. When all votes were counted and official results were posted, however, the provincial elections agency showed Hilton finishing with 3,663 votes to Churchill's 3,649.

"We want the people that supported Zach and those who donated to his campaign to feel confident that the election results are what they are and that there's integrity in the system," Sollows said in an interview.

"So that's the reason behind the request for the recount."

Monday was the deadline to request a recount.

Automatic Annapolis recount

There will also be a recount for the electoral district of Annapolis, where PC challenger David Bowlby defeated Liberal incumbent Carman Kerr by seven votes. A recount is automatic when the difference between the first and second candidate is fewer than 10 votes. 

The recount will start on Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. at the Annapolis Justice Centre, Elections Nova Scotia said. 

That's the day MLAs are expected to be sworn in at Province House. Each caucus is scheduled to be sworn in during separate ceremonies that morning.

The newly minted provincial politicians are then expected to gather for the first time that afternoon to elect a new Speaker.

When the House was dissolved, the Speaker was Danielle Barkhouse, the PC MLA from Chester St. Margaret's. She was elected to the post on Sept. 5.  The election was made necessary after the sudden retirement in April of Karla MacFarlane, the Legislature's first female Speaker.

The PCs increased their seat count in the House to 43 on their way to a second-straight majority government in last week's election. The NDP, meanwhile, increased their seat count to nine, good for Official Opposition status in the legislature for the first time since the 2006 election.

Cumberland North incumbent Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin was re-elected as an Independent.

Churchill is expected to make an announcement about his future as leader of the party sometime this week. Even if he is successful with the recount and retains his seat, it is not expected that Churchill would remain as leader. Party rules require an automatic leadership review following an election that does not result in the Liberals forming government

Members of the party, including Iain Rankin, a former leader and one of only two Liberal MLAs re-elected last week, have said it's time for a rebuild.