OTTAWA—Peter MacKay appears to have the money to back up his front-runner status in the Conservative leadership race.

Just one week after officially launching his leadership campaign, MacKay has submitted the full $300,000 fee required to officially enter the race to replace Andrew Scheer.

Michael Diamond, a spokesperson for the MacKay camp, confirmed Saturday afternoon the campaign has raised more than $400,000 overall and has also submitted the 3,000 signatures of support required to get MacKay’s name on the ballot.

Prospective candidates were only required to submit an initial $25,000 buy-in and 1,000 endorsements by the end of February. The remaining $275,000 and 2,000 signatures was due by March 25.

Cory Hann, the Conservatives’ director of communications, said the party is still reviewing the MacKay campaign’s financial contributions.

“But based on the amount submitted and what’s been reviewed so far they appear on pace to meet the financial requirements set out in our leadership rules,” Hann told the Star Saturday.

The party had set the financial and endorsement requirements much higher than their last leadership race; a move that was widely seen as an attempt to limit the field to more serious candidates. The 2017 contest had 14 names on the ballot, and six of those candidates received less than two per cent support in the first round of voting.

So far, the 2020 contest looks like more of a two-horse race. MacKay and Erin O’Toole, the Durham MP and former cabinet minister, are widely viewed as the two candidates with the best chance at winning the top job.

The O’Toole campaign did not provide a dollar figure when contacted by the Star Saturday, but an official with the campaign said their fundraising was exceeding their expectations at this stage of the race.

“We are surpassing our internal targets,” the official, granted anonymity to discuss internal campaign matters, said.

The official noted O’Toole was the only candidate listed as “approved” on the party’s website — meaning he had already made the first $25,000 deposit and collected the required 1,000 signatures of support.

The MacKay campaign, however, provided the Star with a letter from the party’s election committee indicating he had also been approved as a candidate.

In addition to the financial requirements, candidates are required to submit 3,000 signatures from supporters in at least 30 different ridings across seven provinces and territories.

MacKay has submitted more than 3,000 names, according to a source working on his campaign, but the party still needs to check those endorsements against their membership list.

In addition to O’Toole and MacKay, Conservative MPs Marilyn Gladu and Derek Sloan have indicated they intend to run for the leadership. Richard Decarie, a former political staffer from Quebec, has also announced his intention to run.

Businessman Rick Peterson is also mounting a second campaign for the leadership after finishing near the back of the pack in 2017

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High-profile candidates like former Quebec Premier Jean Charest, the Conservatives’ former interim leader Rona Ambrose, and Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre have taken themselves out of the running.

On Saturday, New Brunswick MP John Williamson announced on Twitter that he has been “approached by Conservative friends (and) colleagues” to consider running for the leadership.

“I’m up for the challenge and look forward to developing new ideas with Conservatives (and) all Canadians from coast to coast,” Williamson wrote.

The party will select their next leader at a convention in Toronto on June 27.

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