It’s not a conclusive statement by far, but Manitoba MP Ted Falk is the first of up to several potential contenders for the Conservative party leadership from Western Canada to publicly hint he is sounding out prospects.

Rona Ambrose, the former star leader of the party during its last leadership contest, has not said a “peep,” a Conservative source from one of the four provinces told iPolitics.

Others say another high-profile prospect from Western Canada, Calgary MP Michelle Rempel Garner, is laying low after an initial burst of news appearances in the days after Andrew Scheer shocked the political world and caucus colleagues when he announced his resignation last December.

However, none of the several Conservative sources reached by iPolitics or veteran political analyst Geoff Norquay of Earnscliffe expect Rempel will run.

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Edmonton-area MP Garnett Genuis, a 33-year-old rookie voted best parliamentarian in the 2019 annual Maclean’s survey of MPs, is on the Conservative mention list, but his office did not respond to a telephone call this week.

But Falk, who was first elected in a 2013 byelection in southern Manitoba, sent a message back to iPolitics on Thursday that suggested he might enter.

“Mr. Falk is in the midst of discussions with his family and supporters about how he can best contribute to the Conservative movement,” said Mike Cancade, Falk’s chief of staff in his riding office, responding on Falk’s behalf. “He looks forward to seeing a dynamic list of leadership contenders in the weeks and months ahead.”

The party’s Leadership Election Organizing Committee set the site for announcing the results of the leadership race in Toronto on June 27, during the city’s annual Pride festival.

A Conservative source suggested the choice was likely purposeful, as the party and some of its prospective leadership candidates try to recoup from the losses it incurred in 2019 and change direction on the social conservative side.

“Based on the leadership candidates that have signalled so far they are going to be in or are likely to be in, all of them would probably march in the gay pride parade,” said one Conservative.

In an interview three days after Scheer’s resignation, Rempel, who had challenged hardline positions against same-sex marriage and other social aspects even before the election, told Global News’ Mercedes Stephenson the leadership gives the party a change to “set a whole new vision.”

“I think we need somebody who’s really bold and wants transformative policy that very clearly and unabashedly and enthusiastically will come out and support the rights of Canadians, regardless of their sexuality, their gender, their background and somebody that gets that’s what Canadians want,” Rempel told Stephenson.

Rempel said she wasn’t sure whether she would jump in.

“I think it’s too early too speculate,” she offered. “I will say as a woman in politics I think the inclination is always to shrink back and go like ‘oh well, you know,’ and I think there are a lot of women who automatically self-deselect in situations like this, so I won’t do that, but I’m also not going to start speculating when we’re so fresh out of the gates, if you will.”

Since then, Rempel has been silent, at least publicly. A western Conservative source said he had heard “nothing” about Rempel since then, while Norquay said he has an “impression that she’s probably not going to run, that’s just from observing what she has been doing and she’s not been particularly visible.”

A Conservative source in British Columbia reached by iPolitics admitted they do not expect a candidate from the West Coast, but added “Conservatives in the province will have enough candidates in the mix” to give British Columbia the “kinds of options they need to make a good choice.”

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No candidates from Saskatchewan are expected either, the source added.

*This story has been updated with the name of Ted Falk’s chief of staff.