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But Ahuntsic-Cartierville remains one of the few ridings across the country where there is no Liberal chosen to represent the party in the election. At the same time, the number of candidates has dwindled from eight to four. At least one blamed his withdrawal on the delay holding a nomination meeting.

Anthony Di Carlo said he had expected to know by the end of June whether he was the candidate, at which point he would have the rest of the summer to campaign against the incumbent, Maria Mourani, a former Bloc MP who’s now running for the NDP.

But with the nomination still not decided and himself a new father, the prospects of successfully fighting Mourani seemed slim.

I was the first candidate involved in the race,” he said. “It was over two years that my team and I were going at it. But it wouldn’t be responsible knowing I wouldn’t be able to give 110 per cent to a last-minute campaign where I’d have to do both a nomination and a general election

“I was the first candidate involved in the race,” he said. “It was over two years that my team and I were going at it. But it wouldn’t be responsible knowing I wouldn’t be able to give 110 per cent to a last-minute campaign where I’d have to do both a nomination and a general election.”

Di Carlo, who withdrew from the race on July 11, suggested in June that the party was holding off on a nomination meeting to help Joly after her late start. He backed off those comments Monday, noting that a similar delay in the Toronto riding of Eglinton-Lawrence didn’t save Adams.

“There have been a lot of people saying that,” Di Carlo said of the delay helping Joly. “But at the end of the day, it will be the members who decide. No matter if it’s longer or shorter, the members will decide who the candidate is.”