Iain Rankin; screen grab courtesy NS Liberal Party
Liberal delegates in Nova Scotia have chosen Iain Rankin as the party’s new leader — and the province’s next premier.
Rankin defeated Labi Kousoulis for the top job on the second and final ballot with 52.4 per cent of the vote. Randy Delorey finished third on the first ballot and did not advance to the second ballot.
All three were former cabinet colleagues in the provincial Liberal government
Roughly 8,100 party delegates started casting virtual ballots at 8 a.m. Monday. Voting closed at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The winner was declared during the party’s virtual leadership convention Saturday night.
Stephen McNeil, who announced his plans to leave the job in August, will officially remain premier until Rankin is sworn in. There’s no word on when that will happen.
