Some of the names linked with top job

OTTAWA — The Conservative leadership contest has yet to formally begin, as the party must still release the entry rules, but people have already started signalling their intentions. Here are the people, in alphabetical order, whose names are in the mix so far:

• Rona Ambrose: former interim leader of the Conservative Party and MP from an Edmonton-area riding.

• Bryan Brulotte: businessman and one-time Progressive Conservative candidate from Chelsea, Que.

• Jean Charest: former Liberal premier of Quebec, Progressive Conservative party leader and federal cabinet minister.

• Michael Chong: former Conservative cabinet minister, current MP for Ontario riding of Wellington-Halton Hills. Ran in the 2017 race.

• Gerard Deltell: current Conservative MP for the Quebec riding of Louis-Saint-Laurent and former provincial MNA.

• Richard Decarie: political aide under former Conservative leader Stephen Harper while in opposition, helped run Harper’s Quebec operations.

• Michael Fortier: former Conservative senator from Quebec who also served as a cabinet minister in the Conservative government.

• Michelle Rempel Garner: current Conservative MP for the riding of Calgary Nose Hill.

• Vincent Guzzo: movie theatre mogul from Quebec who also stars in the reality TV program Dragons’ Den.

• Peter MacKay: former Conservative cabinet minister and longtime MP from Nova Scotia, who currently lives in Toronto.

• Erin O’Toole: former Conservative cabinet minister and current MP from the Toronto-area riding of Durham. Ran in the 2017 race.

• Pierre Poilievre: former Conservative cabinet minister and current MP from the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton.

• Aron Seal: former director of policy for two Conservative cabinet ministers.