Winner of Montreal-area coin toss election calls it ‘very taxing’

More than a week after dozens of people voted, the final city council seat in Montreal-Est has been decided by pulling a name from a box.

On Monday morning at the local city hall, Julie Larivée was named city councillor.

“I feel overwhelmed,” Larivée told reporters in French following the lottery. “The past week has been a roller coaster of emotions with ups and downs. Very taxing emotionally.”

Larivée and Audrey Bordeleau each received 81 votes in the Nov. 2 election, with fewer than one-third of the 517 registered voters in the district casting their ballot.

Following the release of the tie, a judicial recount was conducted to see if the tie would be broken.

Even with 10 ballots rejected, the tie remained sending the two candidates to leave it to chance with the winner to be decided in a lottery, as laid out by provincial law.

“It’s a crazy thing, I don’t want to live that another time in my life,” said Anne St-Laurent, Montreal-Est’s mayor.

2:11 Razor thin victories to be contested after Montreal’s municipal election

The result in Montreal-Est wasn’t the only one that was a close result.

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Voter turnout for the elections on Nov. 2 in the area saw only 36.52 per cent of its registered voters cast a ballot, the lowest its seen in 20 years, according to Elections Montreal.

At least three other candidates in the Montreal area won their elections by fewer than a dozen votes.

Following Monday’s result, Larivée said she’s happy to be the new councillor, but feels winning by a metaphorical coin toss isn’t the most democratic system.

“Pulling my name from a box is not a very democratic system, I think this is something that needs to be re-examined,” she said.

While there may be concern from the councillor-elect on how she won, Montreal-Est’s mayor said democracy still won, with Larivée also adding to St-Laurent’s majority on council.

“She deserved the election win,” St-Laurent said. “The citizens vote for her and she got it. I’m happy for this.”

Larivée’s election caps off what was a relatively exciting election period as she also gave birth during the campaign, with the new mother telling reporters she’s ready for whatever politics has to throw at her for the next four years.

—with files from Global News’ Brayden Jagger Hanes and The Canadian Press