PEI

Rob Lantz loses recount

Progressive Conservative Leader Rob Lantz lost a judicial recount in District 13, Charlottetown-Brighton Tuesday.

Liberal Jordan Brown officially District 13, Charlottetown-Brighton MLA

PC Leader Rob Lantz lost a judicial recount of the votes in his district. (Kerry Campbell/CBC)

Progressive Conservative Leader Rob Lantz lost a judicial recount in District 13, Charlottetown-Brighton Tuesday.

Liberal Jordan Brown is officially the district's MLA with a margin of victory reduced to 22 from the original 24.

Jordan Brown is officially Charlottetown-Brighton's MLA. (Kerry Campbell/CBC)
"What's next for me is what already started a few weeks ago and that will be that I continue on in my new role as MLA for Charlottetown-Brighton and I guess what would literally be next would be the opening of the House," said Brown.

Lantz, who lost the seat to Brown in the May 4 provincial election by 24 votes, asked for the recount.

"It was a very interesting process, I can tell you that. It's an avenue that's open to anyone and it's nice to just confirm the results and be sitting at the table when they're counted," said Lantz.

"I didn't have any great hopes it would change the results, that's for sure, but the margin of the difference was less than one per cent of the total vote cast and I think it was just prudent to confirm the results."

Rob Lantz and Jordan Brown sit down at the table just as the recount for Charlottetown-Brighton is about to start. (Kerry Campbell/CBC)
Provincial court judge Nancy Orr recounted each of the district's 2,706 ballots from the May 4 provincial election, a process that took about four hours.

Lantz doesn't have a seat in the legislature, but he said he will stay on as party leader.

"As I've said previously, I'm in with both feet with this arrangement … it is a learning process and we're just taking it one day at a time."

A recount last week in District 5, Vernon River-Stratford looked at a two-vote difference on election night, giving Liberal Alan McIsaac the win over PC candidate Mary Ellen McInnis

After the recount, a tie was declared, and McIsaac was declared the winner by a coin toss.