Former Ontario premier Mike Harris is acting as a “mentor” to Kevin O’Leary as he considers taking a run at the Conservative leadership, the Sun has learned.

On Friday morning, a full exploratory committee will be officially announced along with a website to gauge O’Leary’s support. Harris will be on that committee, along with former Senator Marjory Lebreton, an influential voice in Conservative circles.

The committee will be chaired by Mike Coates, the global vice chairman of Hill+Knowlton Strategies who also helped on Stephen Harper’s leadership bid and subsequent Conservative campaigns.

“Mike has been giving Kevin some advice since this summer and he really tried to explain to Kevin the good and the bad about running,” explained Coates in a phone interview. “I think Kevin is going into this with his eyes open. And Mike has been a very good mentor in that regard.”

The goal of the committee, explains Coates, is to figure out O’Leary’s level of support and perceptions about him among members and then come back with recommendations.

“Most of Kevin’s support is support in the public, what we want to gauge now is the support in the party,” says Coates.

In every major poll that O’Leary’s name has been included in, he’s at or near first. But many of those polls were of Conservative supporters and the general public.

“If O'Leary enters the race, he will focus like a laser beam on the economy with particular emphasis on the misguided policies of Justin Trudeau, Bill Morneau and Gerald Butts and how their actions have negatively impacted millennials,” Lebreton told the Sun in an email. “His entry will raise the level of debate among the Conservative candidates and will not only benefit the Party but also the country.”

The geographically diverse committee team includes Guy Lauzon, a current Conservative MP from eastern Ontario; Ken Hughes, a former Conservative MP who then went on to serve as an Alberta MLA and recent energy minister; Rick Perkins, a former Conservative candidate from Atlantic Canada. Toronto businessmen Todd Halpern and Perry Dellelce will be involved with fundraising.

O’Leary’s expected to make a decision early in the new year, within the next month. The cutoff date to sign up is February 24 and the election itself is on May 27.

“He’s cleared the decks. His wife is very supportive. His businesses and his partners are very supportive,” says Coates.