Liberal candidate Kristina Tesser Derksen has officially won the Milton East–Halton Hills South seat by just 21 votes. Milton Today
A close race in the Milton East–Halton Hills South riding ended with a win for Liberal candidate Kristina Tesser Derksen. The official recount wrapped up on Friday and confirmed she won the federal seat. This recount has now made her the official Member of Parliament for the area.
Just 21 Votes Made the Difference
Tesser Derksen received 32,178 votes. Her opponent, Conservative candidate Parm Gill, got 32,157 votes. That’s a difference of just 21 votes between the two top candidates.
This final result is a change from election night. On that night, Gill was declared the winner based on early vote counts.
Why a Recount Happened
A recount automatically happens when the vote difference is very small. This rule applies when the difference between the top two candidates is less than one one-thousandth of all ballots counted. In this case, the total number of valid votes was 66,685.
That meant a recount had to take place.
Initial Count vs Final Count
After the May 2 validated results, the seat flipped from Conservative to Liberal. At that point, Elections Canada showed Tesser Derksen leading by 29 votes.
Those results also listed 412 rejected ballots. But after the official recount, the number of rejected ballots dropped to 328. The final margin of victory also narrowed to 21 votes.
Who Oversaw the Recount
Justice Leonard Ricchetti from the Superior Court of Ontario led the official recount. His job was to make sure the process stayed fair and followed the law.
