NDP holds Nunavut after Elections Canada validates results [Video]

After a delay due to a blizzard, Elections Canada has validated the results in Nunavut and confirmed NDP incumbent Lori Idlout has prevailed over Liberal challenger Kilikvak Kabloona.

The results were posted on Elections Canada’s website Friday evening. Validation is a procedure in which Elections Canada double-checks and verifies the numbers reported on election night.

It took more than two weeks for Elections Canada to validate the results because the final ballot box from the community of Naujaat was delayed. It was sent to Iqaluit but got stuck at the airline cargo facility in Rankin Inlet when a rare late-spring blizzard hit Iqaluit on Thursday.

Because of the delay, Idlout could not be sworn in as the Nunavut MP — something she told The Canadian Press was frustrating because constituents were reaching out to her for assistance but she could not officially act as an MP.

The validated results show Idlout beat Kabloona by 41 votes. That’s a …