Quebec emerging as potential hub for Conservative leadership hopefuls

OTTAWA — The Conservative leadership race is heating up as contenders continue to jockey into position ahead of the release of the rules for the contest.

And despite — or perhaps because of — the party’s mediocre showing in Quebec in the last election, it is from that province that several names are emerging as contenders.

Among them: Quebec Premier Jean Charest, expected to make his intentions clear in the coming days.

If he runs, he’ll face competition from Richard Decarie, who once worked for Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and says he wants to run in part to challenge Charest, given his Liberal past, but also to carry the banner of social conservatives.

There’s also Vincent Guzzo, an entertainment industry mogul who is part of the current cast of the reality TV show Dragons’ Den, and who says he’s currently making calls to test out the feasibility of a bid.

The Tories had set out in the October election to gain seats in Quebec, but ended up losing one in the end after a tricky campaign that saw leader Andrew Scheer falter in the French-language debates and also be widely attacked for some of his policy and personal views.