Recount confirms Zach Churchill loss in Yarmouth riding
PC candidate Nick Hilton unseats Liberal Party leader by 16-vote margin
Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative candidate Nick Hilton has been confirmed the winner of the Yarmouth riding following a judicial recount on Monday.
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill, who had represented the area since 2010, applied for the recount after the initial results of the Nov. 26 provincial election showed he had lost his seat to Hilton by just 14 votes. The recount showed Hilton won by 16 votes.
The results of the recount are as follows:
- Nick Hilton, PC: 3,663.
- Zach Churchill, Liberal: 3,647.
- Gillian Rowley, NDP: 208.
- Adam Randall, Green: 62.
Hilton said it feels good to know he'll be getting sworn in at Province House on Tuesday.
"I participated in other levels of government but this is clearly going to be the next level and [I'm] excited to represent Yarmouth and the voters here and the residents here and I can't thank them enough for their support throughout the last month," Hilton told CBC News following the results of the recount.
The Nova Scotia Liberal Party announced on Monday it would make an announcement about the party's leadership plans on Tuesday. Churchill has been leader of the party since summer 2022.
There will also be a recount on Tuesday 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 take place at 10 a.m. at the Annapolis Royal Firehall Auditorium.
With files from Michael Gorman
