OTTAWA–In the history of campaigns for the Conservative party leadership, Irvin Studin’s campaign may run the risk of being the briefest.

Studin, a senior fellow at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, made a long-shot bid to enter the race on Tuesday. To follow through, he’ll need to collect 1,000 endorsements from party members before the race’s initial cut off on Thursday.

“I’ve been a non-partisan all my life, a professional, but the country is poorly led — just too many mistakes and not enough resistance against the domestic and external pressures that we face,” Studin said in an interview Thursday.

“I’m trying to broaden the options, raise the debate and inject new ideas, new vision and generally excite not only the Conservative party but the entire population of the country.”

But while he has little time to meet the thresholds to become an “approved” candidate, he’s not lacking in ideas. Studin wants to dramatically increase immigration — he has previously suggested Canada should aim to almost triple its population to 100 million — and to create an economic and scientific hub in Canada’s north.

Studin is also proposing a $3,000 stipend for every Canadian under the age of 25 — he’s calling it the “Studin stipend” — to travel the country.

If those don’t sound like typically Conservative ideas, well, Studin is not your typical conservative. A former professional soccer player with the Toronto Lynx, Studin was a Rhodes scholar and now does research in international affairs. He’s also no stranger to Ottawa, having served in the Privy Council Office between 2002 and 2006.

Studin faces long odds in collecting the 1,000 signatures he needs by Thursday. He would also need to make an initial deposit of $25,000 to enter the race. But even if he doesn’t make the cut, Studin said he’s committed to running as a Conservative candidate in the next election — whenever that comes.

Leadership hopefuls who meet Thursday’s deadline will have until March 25 to provide an additional $275,000 and 2,000 more signatures of support to get their names on the ballot.

As of Thursday afternoon, the candidates included front-runners Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole, along with MPs Marilyn Gladu and Derek Sloan, and lawyers Leslyn Lewis and Jim Karahalios.

Rudy Husny, a Conservative activist and former staffer, told the Star on Thursday morning that he had obtained enough signatures to enter the race. A spokesperson for the party did not respond to a request for confirmation, however. Rick Peterson, a businessman who ran for the leadership in 2017, also said his campaign cleared the first hurdle Thursday afternoon.

The Conservatives will choose their next leader on June 27 at a convention in Toronto.