A judicial recount has confirmed a narrow NDP win in a Labrador riding in last month’s provincial election, denying the governing Liberals majority status.
When the final tally was announced today, just two votes separated NDP newcomer Jordan Brown and former Liberal cabinet minister Graham Letto in the district of Labrador West.
But that was enough to give the NDP its third seat in the legislature and leave the Liberals with exactly half of the 40 seats.
Brown’s win, initially counted as a five-vote margin, triggered a judicial recount under the province’s Elections Act.
The May 16 general election saw voters re-elect Premier Dwight Ball’s Liberals with a reduced caucus, one seat shy of the 21 required for a majority.
The final numbers provided by Elections Newfoundland and Labrador on Friday counted 1,364 votes for Brown, 1,362 votes for Letto and 509 votes for Progressive Conservative candidate Derick Sharron.
Now that it’s official, the result marks the start of what politicians and observers have called a new political era in a province that typically elects majorities.
The province’s House of Assembly opened last week to re-introduce the budget that was tabled but not passed before the election writ was dropped.
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