Andy Fillmore elected as Halifax's next mayor; unofficial results also released for CBRM, Yarmouth

Nova Scotians headed to the polls Saturday as municipal elections were held across the province.

Electors in 48 of Nova Scotia's 49 municipalities casted ballots, except in Mulgrave, where the mayor and four councillors have been acclaimed.

Unofficial results for municipalities, including the Halifax Regional Municipality, were shared Saturday evening after polls closed.

Halifax Regional Municipality

Former Liberal MP Andy Fillmore has been elected as Halifax's next mayor, according to unofficial results released on the Halifax Regional Municipality's website.

Results will not be considered official until early next week when they are certified by a returning officer.

Fillmore announced he was resigning from federal politics in August. He officially started his campaign for the mayor's office in early September.

Fillmore was up against a crowded field of 16 candidates all vying for mayor of Nova Scotia's biggest city.

Right behind him in Halifax's mayoral race was three-term Councillor Waye Mason who launched his campaign for mayor in July, while Councillor Pam Lovelace, who announced her plans to run in May, had the third highest amount of votes.

Prior to Fillmore, Mayor Mike Savage held the position for 12 years, serving three terms as mayor. Savage announced in February that he would not be running for a fourth term.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of Mayor Mike Savage as Nova Scotia's new lieutenant-governor.

Cecil Clarke elected as next mayor for CBRM: unofficial results

Unofficial results posted to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's website show Cecil Clarke has been elected as the new mayor, beating out nine other candidates.

Clarke previously served as the municipality's mayor from 2012 to 2020.

He will replace Mayor Amanda McDougall-Merrill, who was elected as Cape Breton Regional Municipality's first female mayor in 2020, after beating out Clarke by nearly 4,000 votes.

In May, McDougall-Merrill announced she would not re-offer in this year's municipal election.

Town of Yarmouth

Mayor Pam Mood was re-elected to serve her fourth term for Yarmouth, according to unofficial results on the town's Facebook page.

Mood was up against one candidate, Gurdeep Brar.

According to the town's Facebook page, it was a tight race, with Brar receiving 1,149 votes, and Mood leading the way with 1,255 votes as of Saturday at 7:20 p.m.  

Mood was first elected as mayor in 2012.

In 1984, Mood joined the RCMP as a civilian member and did training in Regina for her position with the Yarmouth Drug Section. Following that career, she also spent many years as women's ministries leader in her hometown church.

With files from The Canadian Press.

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