Zach Churchill stepping down as leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party

Zach Churchill resigned as Nova Scotia Liberal leader Tuesday after leading his party to a resounding defeat in the Nov. 26 provincial election.

Zach Churchill resigned as Nova Scotia Liberal leader Tuesday after leading his party to a resounding defeat in the Nov. 26 provincial election.

Churchill made the announcement at the Liberal caucus office in Halifax, saying he will be immediately replaced on an interim basis by Derek Mombourquette, while the other member of the caucus, Iain Rankin, will share in the leadership responsibilities while serving as house leader in the legislature.

The announcement followed Monday's recount in the district of Yarmouth, which saw Churchill lose his seat to Progressive Conservative candidate Nick Hilton by a final tally of 16 votes.

"I'm certainly sorry that I couldn't have produced better results for our candidates and our members of the legislature, but I'm certainly encouraged as I pass the torch on that we will continue to rebuild," said Churchill.

The Liberals were reduced to just two seats, losing 12 of the 14 seats they held going into the election campaign, which was the first for Churchill as party leader. Progressive Conservative Premier Tim Houston led his party to a second consecutive majority government, winning 43 of the legislature's 55 seats, pending the results of a recount being held Tuesday in the riding of Annapolis.

The New Democrats, led by Claudia Chender, were elevated to official Opposition status with nine seats, and one Independent candidate was re-elected.

Churchill pointed out that his party did get 23 per cent of the popular vote even if it won less than four per cent of the total seats.