The Bloc Québécois has lost a seat in suburban Montreal after a recount of federal election results from last week.

Liberal candidate Alexandra Mendes has unseated Bloc Québécois incumbent Marcel Lussier in the riding of Brossard- La Prairie, according to a recount conducted by a Quebec Superior Court judge.

Mendes defeated Lussier by 69 votes, boosting the Liberals' national seat count to 77 and dropping the Bloc's to 49.

Lussier, an engineer and environmental specialist who has held the riding since 2006, originally thought he had won the riding by 102 votes in the Oct. 14 election.

The recount was ordered Tuesday and conducted Thursday. Several other recounts have been called in British Columbia, Ontario and P.E.I.

Elections Canada says there are two types of recounts. An automatic recount is conducted in ridings where the margin of victory is less than 0.1 per cent of the votes cast. All recounts take place under the scrutiny of a judge.

A requested recount may also take place "where there is evidence that election officers have incorrectly counted, tabulated or rejected ballots," the agency's website says.

The request must be presented within four days of the validation of the results and must include an affidavit stating that the count was improperly carried out, that ballots were improperly rejected or that the returning officer incorrectly added up the results at the validation.

In addition, the applicant must deposit $250 with the court as security for the costs of the candidate who obtained the largest number of votes, the website says.

With files from the Canadian Press