After nearly three weeks of uncertainty following the Ontario election, it looks like there's a winner in Mushkegowuk-James Bay.
Elections Ontario isn't releasing the results of the March 17 recount until after the two-day appeal period.
This afternoon, however, incumbent NDP Guy Bourgouin switched his Facebook cover photo to show his constituency office address. Shortly after, his campaign manager Mélanie Gagné confirmed to TimminsToday that Bourgouin came out on top.
“The recount happened all day and evening yesterday, and he won with a margin of nine votes,” she wrote.
After the official polls closed on Feb. 27, Bougouin had a four-vote lead over PC Dave Plourde. After the official tabulation of the results, the NDP's lead grew to eight votes. The manual recount added another vote to the margin.
Bourgouin has held the seat since the riding was created in 2017.
SEE: Mushkegowuk-James Bay votes being recounted
Because there were fewer than 25 votes between the top two candidates, the recount process was automatically triggered.
Following the recount, the judge will certify the results to the returning officer unless a notice of appeal is filed within two days of its completion, said Elections Ontario media relations co-ordinator Dave Pearce in an email.
TimminsToday reached out to Plourde and has not received a response yet.
Elections Ontario will not provide any updates until after the two-day appeals window, Pearce said.
Meanwhile, Premier Doug Ford and the executive council are set to be sworn in tomorrow (March 19), and the provincial legislature is scheduled to resume on Monday, April 14.
