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B.C. village selects next mayor in random draw after election-night tie

Click to play video: 'Mayoral candidates tied in B.C. village of Canal Flats'
Mayoral candidates tied in B.C. village of Canal Flats
The municipal elections are over, but residents in the East Kootenay village of Canal Flats still don't know who their mayor will be. The two mayoral candidates are tied, and as Kylie Stanton reports, the political pickle could end up getting solved the old-fashioned way – Oct 18, 2022

The small eastern B.C. community of Canal Flats now knows who its new mayor will be, in a decision that came down to random chance.

The village, located about an hour north of Cranbrook, saw its mayoral race end in a tie on election night.

Candidates Mark Doherty and Doug Mccutcheon each earned 156 votes.

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Both candidates agreed that a recount was not necessary in the contest, and met at the provincial courthouse in Invermere on Monday, where a judge picked the winner’s name out of a box.

That draw selected Doherty’s name, making him the community’s new mayor elect.

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It’s not the first time in recent memory a B.C. community had to use the random draw technique to settle an election.

In 2018, Peachland’s mayoral race resulted in a tie when Cindy Fortin and Harry Gough each won 804 votes.

In that case, Fortin was elected mayor after her name was drawn from a box.

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