Federal election judicial recount in Newfoundland hits day 8. What's taking so long?

With a judicial recount now into its eighth day, the Victoria Day long weekend likely felt especially lengthy for a Newfoundland and Labrador judge, Elections Canada workers and scrutineers labouring to determine the result of a federal riding separated by a mere 12 votes. The mandatory re-tallying of ballots for Terra Nova—The Peninsulas, where the Liberal candidate Anthony Germain squeaked past Conservative candidate Jonathan Rowe after results were validated, began on Monday, May 12, and has continued in earnest since. On Wednesday, Elections Canada told the Canadian Press that more than 1,000 disputed ballots have arisen following a recount of all 41,670 cast by electors on election night or ahead of time via advanced polls and special-ballot voting. Disputed ballots are those questioned or challenged during the judicial recount because of how it was marked or otherwise interpreted when they were first counted or rejected. A spokesperson said work overseen by N.L. Supreme Court Judge Justice Garrett Handrigan would continue through the weekend. In an email to National Post Tuesday morning, the independent agency said it was expecting results later that day and deferred specific questions on the recount to Handrigan and the court. In an email to National Post on Tuesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the court in Grand Bank, which is near the site of the recount in Marystown, said no decision has been made and the judge will notify Elections Canada when it has. “From there, it will be up to Elections Canada to make that announcement,” the spokesperson wrote. “Justice Handrigan will not be providing an oral or written decision, a report will be provided from Justice Handrigan to Elections Canada.”

• The Bloc Québécois wants the courts to trigger a new election in Terrebonne
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The judge determines the number of recount teams that will re-examine all the ballots individually. The typical range is 15 to 20, but it’s not clear how many Handrigan has deployed for the 270 polls from the largely rural riding on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula. Each of those teams consists of two Elections Canada workers — a handler and a recorder — and a representative for each candidate, commonly known as scrutineers. As votes are examined, either of the scrutineers can dispute the interpretation. It’s not clear if NDP candidate Liam Ryan, who finished a distant third with only 4.1 per cent of the vote, has been represented. Because the process involves re-examining the 597 rejected ballots, some of those could be reclassified as disputed ballots if there’s unanimous agreement among the recount team. Common reasons for ballots to be rejected include improperly marking the candidate, extra markings on the ballot, damage or alteration to the ballot, or including identifying information of the elector. After the disputed ballots are tallied, counsel for each candidate can make submissions to Handrigan on each, but he must make the ultimate ruling on whether it counts and to whom it is awarded. Should Germain lose the seat, the Liberals will fall back to 169 in the House of Commons and the Conservatives will climb to 144 with Rowe’s addition. Based on Elections Canada’s judicial recount handbook , it appears Handrigan and the parties elected to wait until all votes were recounted before making submissions and hearing decisions on disputed ballots, which “could slow down the process considerably.” But the agency said that with the hecticness of recounting around them complete, it “allows for disputed ballots to be discussed more calmly, often in a largely empty room” where counsel can come to an agreement on many of the ballots. National Post contacted both Germain and Rowe to discuss the judicial recount and is awaiting responses.

We brought our serious faces for Mine & Ruth-Ann’s first (hopefully last) day before a judge. Unfortunately, the wait continues as the judge continues to review the ballots.Posted by Jonathan Rowe - Federal Conservative Candidate, Terra Nova-The Peninsulas on Wednesday, May 14, 2025

A chill morning for a 376 - 302 victory to help occupy the mind. pic.twitter.com/f3eMav5wP6— AnthonyGermain (@AnthonyGermain) May 18, 2025

Meanwhile, the last of four judicial recounts that arose from the election ashes begins today in Ontario’s Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore. It was granted by a judge after Liberal incumbent Irek Kusmierczyk, who lost by 77 votes to Conservative Kathy Borrelli, said some of his scrutineers witnessed valid votes being rejected on election night. In Ontario’s Milton East—Halton Hills South, a recount that began the day after Terra Nova—The Peninsulas, Kristina Tesser Derksen was confirmed as the new MP late last week, having beaten Tory Parm Gill by 21 votes. The first judicial recount, in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne, was also completed last week, but it could head to a byelection depending on the outcome of a court case contesting the official result. The riding was first claimed by the Liberals’ Tatiana Auguste on election night, but was awarded to Bloc Québécois incumbent Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné after results were validated. But with a margin of victory smaller than one one-thousandth of the total votes cast, a judicial recount was required, at the end of which Auguste emerged as the winner by a single vote. Two days later, a Bloc supporter came forward saying her mail-in ballot was returned to her. Elections Canada later ruled the lost ballot would not count, leading Sinclair-Desgagné and the Bloc to challenge the outcome “on the basis of a vote that was not taken into account, which constitutes an irregularity” in the electoral process. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.