VANCOUVER – The NDP has requested a recount in the federal riding of Port Moody-Coquitlam after the party's candidate lost by just 153 votes.
NDP candidate Bonita Zarrillo narrowly lost to Conservative candidate Nelly Shin in the federal election on Oct. 21. The NDP says it requested the recount because the gap between the winner and second-place finisher has narrowed since election night, and the party wants to make sure every vote is counted.
The difference was initially reported as more than 300 votes, but the party says it's now about half that. There were also more than 500 spoiled ballots, according to the NDP.
Elections Canada says it's aware of the request for a recount and has sent a lawyer to Vancouver for the hearing. The process for the recount would not be triggered until a judge rules on whether it should go ahead. According to Elections Canada spokesperson Natasha Gauthier, the hearing is expected to take place this week, and a decision from the judge could come immediately or next week.
The neighbouring Tri-City riding of Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam was also a close race with 390 votes separating winning Liberal candidate Ron McKinnon with Conservative candidate Nicholas Insley.
While both races were close, neither was tight enough to trigger an automatic recount from Elections Canada, which only happens when the difference between the winning candidate and runner up is less than 0.1 per cent of total votes.
Recounts have also been requested by the Bloc Quebecois in two Quebec ridings that were won by the Liberals. The Bloc has requested recounts in the Montreal riding of Hochelaga and a riding in Quebec City.
With files from Megan Devlin.
