The Liberal Party of Canada will hold a leadership convention in Vancouver next year to determine who will take over the reins from Stephane Dion.
The party released new rules for the leadership race on Saturday, including a large entrance fee of $90,000. During the 2006 leadership campaign, the party charged hopefuls a $50,000 entrance fee.
Also, spending by the leadership candidates will be restricted to $1.5 million each, which is far smaller than 2006's $3.4 million limit.
The party's national executive met Saturday in Ottawa to prepare for the leadership convention, which will take place from Apr. 30 to May 3.
Dion announced his intention to step down as Liberal leader after the Liberals' dismal showing in the federal election, where they won 76 seats in their worst result since 1984.
Only two candidates have so far thrown their hat into the ring: Toronto MP Bob Rae and New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc. Toronto MP Michael Ignatieff is also expected to run.
Other potential candidates include former Quebec cabinet ministers Denis Coderre and Martin Cauchon, as well as Ontario MPs Ruby Dhalla and David McGuinty.
Last week, former deputy prime minister John Manley announced that he would not seek the Liberal leadership.
Many Liberals want to avoid a 10-candidate race as happened during the 2006 leadership campaign, CTV's Rosemary Thompson said Saturday on 麻豆影视net.
Thompson said many Liberal Party operatives want this race to be about finding a strong leader rather than letting backbenchers position themselves for future cabinet posts.
"Many people do run in leaderships to try and position themselves to ultimately be cabinet ministers someday, or very important critics in the party," Thompson said. "But this time around there's a real sense in the party that it's not time to resume build, that it's time to get on with the show and get behind whichever leader they do end up choosing."
Yesterday, the Quebec wing of the party proposed new rules that would prohibit any potential candidate who still has debt after the 2006 leadership race from running this time around.
The rule would disqualify Gerard Kennedy and Martha Hall Findlay, who each owe about $200,000 from their unsuccessful leadership bids two years ago.
While Ignatieff has said he is debt-free, the most recent financial report he filed with Elections Canada indicates he may owe about $60,000.
With files from The Canadian Press
