After tie vote, Cape Breton-area councillor to be chosen by random draw

HALIFAX — It will be the luck of the draw that chooses the next councillor for a district in northern Cape Breton after two candidates earned the same number of votes in a recent municipal election.

Amy MacKinnon and Wanda Hennick both received 145 votes on Oct. 19 in the district that includes the Victoria County communities of Dingwall, Aspy Bay and Bay St. Lawrence.

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To break the tie, the winner will be chosen in a random draw — a selection process stipulated in the Nova Scotia Municipal Elections Act.

Hennick says electors have told her they feel that choosing the winner by a draw makes them feel like their votes don’t count, adding that she would prefer the winner be determined in a byelection.

Blair Gallop, Victoria County’s returning officer, says the Oct. 19 election isn’t the only time a tie has been recorded in Nova Scotia municipal politics.

He says that in 1979 Harvey Lewis became mayor of Louisbourg after his name was picked from a hat.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press