New Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont plans to win seat before next election

Liberal party elects new leader Beth Macdonell reports on Manitoba's new Liberal leader and businessman Dougald Lamont and what the future holds for the party.

The new leader of the Manitoba Liberal party has a background in journalism, business and politics, but doesn't have a seat in the legislature.

Dougald Lamont, 48, was elected Saturday night at the Liberal Leadership Convention in Winnipeg.

He told reporters after the win he doesn't know where he'll run in Manitoba, but plans to win a seat in a by-election and be in the legislature before the next provincial election in October 2020.

Lamont said he will continue teaching part-time at the University of Winnipeg until the end of the semester, and plans to attend question period.

Political scientist Christopher Adams called Lamont the dark horse in the race.

Adams said it could be positive he isn't an elected MLA which will allow him to focus on the organization of the party.

"They are short on funds, they are short on staff, and they are short on office capacity so he's really got to focus on that," said Adams with St. Paul's College at the University of Manitoba.

Lamont defeated two candidates who are already MLAs.

Former Liberal leader Jon Gerrard bowed out after the first round of voting, throwing his support to Lamoureux.

At just 25-years-old, Lamoureux told CTV News Sunday she'll run again for the leadership and is at peace with second place.

"It's not always easy. Some races are closer than others and that's why you always fight to the very end. You can’t take anything for granted. He won and I'm okay with that, and now we now all need to get on board," Lamoureux said.

READ MORE: Dougald Lamont clinches leadership of Manitoba Liberal Party on second ballot

Wins on second ballot

Lamont won the leadership on the second ballot, receiving just eight more votes than his rival, perceived front runner Cindy Lamoureux. It was a count so close, Lamont asked officials to repeat the results.

“It's been a very long day. Can you please explain?,” Lamont said laughing. “I'm not bad with math … I  was elated. It was amazing.”

Lamont has four children,  worked on liberal campaigns, runs his own consulting firm, and lectures on government and business relations at the university of Winnipeg.

This was Lamont's second attempt at the liberal leadership. He ran in 2013 placing a distant second behind Rana Bokhari.

Larger than expected turnout

The Manitoba Liberal Party said close to 1,200 people attended the convention.

The larger than expected turnout and a computer software glitch created long lines of people waiting to register and delayed speeches.

Not everyone stuck around Saturday night for the second round of voting. There were 310 on the second ballot, compared to the first ballot.