Jean Charest considering Conservative leadership run: sources

Jean Charest, the former Quebec premier and ex-leader of thefederal Progressive Conservative Party, is preparing to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party, according to party sources who spoke with Radio-Canada.

Charest is fine-tuning aplan for his leadership bid, according to Conservative sources familiar with his plans.

"We have support in all the provinces. People will be surprised by the support we receive, even in Western Canada," a supporter of Charest's candidacy said.

All the sources spoke to Radio-Canada, CBC's French-language service, on condition they not be named because they were not authorized to confirmcandidates' plans or to speak about internal party matters.

Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole stepped down from the position earlier this month following a vote bythe party caucus. Candice Bergen replaced him as interim leader.

Pierre Poilievre, the member of Parliament for Carleton and a former cabinet minister under Stephen Harper, is so far the only candidate to haveconfirmed he will run for the leadershipbut others have expressed interest.

The rumoured leadership bid by National Post columnist and political consultant Tasha Kheiriddin, for example,is no longer anifbut a when, according to several Conservative sources, including within her campaign.

"We are organizingourselves. We are setting up the campaign structure in each province," a senior source in Kheiriddin's campaign said.

"We are ready to go. But the final decision will depend a lot on the rules that will be chosen by the party."

Charest's camp said it is still reserving the right to change its mind about a run.

"As long as it is not announced, anything can happen," stressed theCharest supporter.

In the last Conservative leadership race two years ago, Charest recorded a campaign-launch video but ended up not running.

Charest's executive assistant at McCarthy-Ttreault, the law firm at which he is currently a partner, told Radio-Canada he isnot giving interviews.

Other candidates

Patrick Brown, mayor of Brampton, Ont.,and former leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party, is also considering throwing his hat in, according tosources. But looming Ontario municipal elections in November could complicatehis decision.

If he doesn't run, Brown could still lend his political organization to a candidate, as he did for Peter MacKay in 2020.

MacKay, who came second to Erin O'Toole in 2020, hasn't ruled out running again.

Leslyn Lewis, who is seen as aligned withthe socially conservative wing of the party and is the member of Parliament for HaldimandNorfolk in southwestern Ontario, finished third in the last leadership race, is also preparing her team.

Charest, the former Liberal premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012who was a cabinetminister in Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative government and led the partyfrom 1995 to 1998,has been courted by both centrist conservatives and right-leaningliberals.

"With his international experiencein the business world and in politics, he is a must," saidanother source who supports his possible candidacy.

"And in addition, he is a formidable debater who would give Justin Trudeau a hard time."

The argument in favour ofKheiriddin'sbid, according to another one of her supporters, is that she isa "blank canvas, without political baggage."

Charest, in contrast, could be hurt by his past asaprovincial Liberal and by the fact that he and his law firm were advising Huawei when two Canadians were detained in China.

Thesource within Kheiriddin's campaign said her team has been contacted "by former members who would return to the party and non-members who would consider voting Conservative if Tasha were the leader."

Poilievre's populism faces opposition within party

The Conservative Party leadership committee will soon announce rules for candidates, such as the registration fee, thenumber of signatures required to enter the raceand campaign spending limits.

The shorter the raceand the higher the number of signatures required, the harder it will be for new candidates.

A June vote could deter potential new candidates and givePoilievrean advantage, theConservative source said.

Sources say an "Anyone but Pierre" movement to oppose Poilievre is organizing within the more centrist wing of the party.

Conservatives say his right-wing brand of conservatism and his support for the recent convoy protests make him a tough sell in urban Quebec and Ontario.

"People are sick of Republican-style populism. It can't go on if we want to win," one of theConservative sources who supportsCharest said.

"Faced with the crisis of national unity and the problem of social cohesion in the country, we need a leader who unites, not who polarizes."

A number of candidates who lean more to the party's centreare considering running against Poilievre, but their supporters don't seem worried about that spreading financing and votes too thin.

"It will help us present a positive image to the population," a Conservative member of Parliament said.

"And if we go to the second or third round, the more progressive candidates we have, the more votes we have to elect one."