OTTAWA—NDP MP Nathan Cullen has been speaking with party elders and former leaders as he mulls a potential run for the leadership of the New Democrats.

Cullen told the Star Wednesday his recent conversations around the leadership have been encouraging, and he hopes to make his decision within the week.

“I’ve been calling around to some former leaders, provincial and otherwise . . . just to get my last thoughts together,” Cullen said in an interview Wednesday.

“The conversations have been really good. They’re really enjoyable, because I can take myself out of it and just observe what people are thinking and feeling. It’s a really privilege to be in the conversation.”

Cullen is seen as a potential frontrunner within the NDP as they begin to search for a replacement for outgoing leader Tom Mulcair.

The B.C. MP, who came third in the party’s last leadership contest in 2012, said that he hopes to announce his decision by the end of the week.

While he maintains he still hasn’t made up his mind, Cullen offered a hint about what his leadership pitch to party members could be.

“People are taking away from the last campaign that how people voted very much lined up with very much who we are. Progressive policies and just confirming those, being unapologetic about those,” Cullen said.

“Whenever we would tack to the right or something, people say don’t pretend to be Liberals because (voters) will just vote for the real thing. And there’s that sense out there that Trudeau sort of dressed himself up as a New Democrat or as a progressive, and ultimately if that’s not legit., people are going to vote for the real thing.”

After a disastrous election campaign that saw the NDP move from government in waiting to third place opposition, party activists made the unprecedented decision to turf leader Tom Mulcair.

At the party’s policy convention in Edmonton in April, Mulcair lost his bid to stay on as leader with 52 per cent of delegates voting to seek out someone new.

Mulcair continues to lead the party in the House of Commons, with the race to replace him yet to begin in earnest.

NDP insiders say more than one contender is already starting to test the waters, but none seem in a place to announce their candidacy.

Around NDP circles in Ottawa, several potential names are talked about: B.C. MP Peter Julian, Quebec MP Alexandre Boulerice, Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, and Ontario MP Charlie Angus.

Former Halifax MP Megan Leslie, who was facing some pressure to put her name forward, has already said she’s not considering a run.

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The party’s nomination period will begin in July. A leadership conference is slated for September or October 2017. Candidates are required to pony up a $30,000 entry fee, and abide by a campaign spending cap of $1.5 million.

—with files from The Canadian Press