‘I’m in,’ says former MP Peter MacKay
Pictou County native expected to make official announcement in near future in Central Nova
NEW GLASGOW — Peter MacKay will seek the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada
The Pictou County native made the announcement on his Twitter account Wednesday stating: "I'm in, stay tuned."
MacKay is expected to make an official announcement in Central Nova in the near future.
The former Nova Scotia MP is attending the funeral for John Crosbie in Newfoundland today and will be back in Central Nova in a week or so, he said.
It is speculated he will announce his intentions to run at that time.
The 54-year-old lawyer was a member of Parliament from 1997-2015 and has served as minister of justice and attorney general (2013-15), minister of national defence (2007-13) and minister of foreign affairs (2006-07) in the cabinet of thenprime minister Stephen Harper.
MacKay was the last leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and he agreed to merge the party with Harper’s Canadian Alliance in 2003, forming the Conservative Party of Canada.
He announced on May 29, 2015, that he would not be seeking re-election in that fall's election.
Since then, MacKay has been working at the Baker McKenzie law firm in Toronto, but has remained active on the political scene, attending many Conservative party events and assisting Conservative candidates in the most recent election.
He and his wife Nazanin Afshin-Jam have three children.
The new Conservative party leader, who will replace Andrew Scheer, will be chosen on June 27 in Toronto.
The party officially opened its 2020 leadership race on Monday, giving candidates until the end of February to apply.
With the opening of the race, the leadership organizing committee has also set the rules governing the election, including candidate requirements and fees.
Those interested in becoming party leader will have just over two months to pull together $300,000 and get 3,000 signatures in order to have their names on the ballot.
Both the financial requirements and the signatures must be completed in stages. Candidates will have to pay $25,000 and have the signatures of 1,000 members from 30 different ridings in seven different provinces or territories by Feb. 27. They'll have until March 25 to fulfil the remaining obligations.
The fee is in two parts — $200,000 which is non-refundable and a $100,000 deposit candidates will get back if they follow the rules.
Among those being touted as possible candidates for the leadership are former interim leader of the party and former MP for the Edmonton-area riding of Sturgeon River-Parkland, Rona Ambrose; former Liberal premier of Quebec, Progressive Conservative party leader and federal cabinet minister, Jean Charest; former Conservative cabinet minister, current MP for the Ontario riding of Wellington-Halton Hills, Michael Chong; former Conservative cabinet minister and current
MP from the Toronto-area riding of Durham, Erin O’Toole; and former Conservative cabinet minister and current MP from the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton, Pierre Poilievre.
Chong and O’Toole ran in the 2017 leadership race.