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Mr. Mulcair had pulled into a strong lead in the race with support of 43% on the third ballot. Mr. Topp had 31% support on the third ballot and B.C. MP Nathan Cullen took 24% of the vote, and was automatically eliminated.

The results set up a fourth-ballot showdown in which Mr. Topp needed to gather about 75% of Mr. Cullen’s supporters to overtake Mr. Mulcair. The vast majority of votes, though, were already cast in advance, ahead of Saturday’s events.

Among those who moved to support Mulcair on the convention floor was Ontario MP Charlie Angus, who made the move after his first choice, Dewar, dropped out.

Angus said he was motivated by a desire to promote party unity as MPs head back to the House of Commons Monday.

“This is about bringing the party together and getting ready to be prime minister,” said Angus.

After he was knocked out of the race, Cullen freed his supporters to vote for either Mulcair or Topp, and he publicly praised both men as people who knew the party needs to be modernized.

“Some have said that this may be a struggle for the soul of this party,” said Cullen. “That may be a little dramatic . . . . They are both open to the idea that the party must seek change.”

Toronto MP Peggy Nash was eliminated on the second ballot, where she pulled 16% support. There was immediately talk of whether she would endorse one of her rivals, but she pledged to remain neutral. Unlike a delegated convention, an endorsement would not have been that significant since members were free to make their own votes. While there was much speculation on the convention floor about movement of supporters from one side to another — and whether one of Mr. Topp or Mr. Cullen would drop out and endorse the other — it remained that the percentage of votes still in play on Saturday was only about 15% of those cast in the race.