Decisions made in Quebec municipal elections, some recounts remain

Recounts in Cote-Saint-Luc, Dorval, Pinard and Saguenay were completed in Quebec municipal elections.

Recounts have taken place across Quebec after the Nov. 2 municipal elections, with some outcomes remaining in the balance.

One vote for victory in Côte-Saint-Luc

There was a recount in the hotly contested Côte-Saint-Luc mayoral election where David Tordjman beat incumbent Mitchell Brownstein by one vote.

CTV News received confirmation from the Montreal suburb that the votes have been counted, but the results are being contested.

The judge who oversaw the recount has not yet certified the result, so neither man has yet been named winner.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Monday.

Dorval incumbent remains in seat

The Dorval mayoral recount took place on Friday and confirmed incumbent mayor Marc Doret as winner.

He beat challenger Umberto Macri by 225 votes.

“We pursued this process in good faith so an independent authority could review the concerns raised during the election,” Macri wrote on Facebook. “We sincerely hope that no other party or candidate will ever have to face the difficulties we encountered. If this experience helped highlight the importance of a clear, open and transparent electoral process for anyone who chooses to serve their community, then the effort was worthwhile.”

Seven recounts in Montreal

Some recounts remain for Montreal municipal seats, but four have been decided.

Recounts were done on Nov. 13 for the Jacques-Bizard district borough councillor, Côte-des-Neiges district city councillor and Saint-Jacques district city councillor.

In those elections, Richard Bélanger(Jacques-Bizard), Emilie Brière (Côte-des-Neiges) and Claude Pinard (Saint-Jacques) were elected.

On Nov. 14, a recount confirmed that long-time incumbent Parc-Extension city councillor Mary Deros lost to Elvira Carhaullanqui.

Other recounts are continuing next week.

Ex-CAQ minister loses

Former CAQ minister Andree Laforest had her bid for a recount rejected after losing the election for Saguenay mayor by 232 votes to Luc Boivin.

Candidates have four days after polls close to file a request for a recount with Elections Quebec.

Only the courts can access ballot papers, which are kept under seal for one year.

“For four days after the addition of the votes, any person may apply for a judicial recount if they have reasonable grounds to believe that ballot papers have been unlawfully counted or rejected, or that a statement of votes is incorrect,” said Elections Quebec.

With reporting from CTV News Montreal journalists Olivia O’Malley and Joe Lofaro.