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There remains a very real risk that the executive will in fact vote to cancel the leadership race. Some caucus members and insiders have been lobbying for this outcome, arguing that the party’s finances are in worse shape than they believed and that the membership lists are actually riddled with fraud. They say there is no way to guarantee the integrity of the leadership vote.

However, sources told the Toronto Sun on Tuesday that the anti-leadership voices on the executive have dwindled in number and the people will now have a say. Rumours of a cancelled race angered grassroots members and some party stalwarts.

Doug Ford’s entry into the race on Monday did a lot to sway people. While party elites remain scared stiff of a Ford victory, they knew that once such a big name candidate had declared there was no way they could put the genie back in the bottle.

Now the question becomes a matter of rules. The Sun was told by sources that the LEOC has no intention of coming up with rules designed to prevent certain candidates from entering. Although they will likely set the entry fee at over $100,000, which will dissuade lesser known candidates. The formal leadership vote tally is expected to take place on March 24, although sources say it could be as early as March 10. There most likely will not be a convention, instead ballots will be done electronically or by mail.

The big question now is who is on those ballots. The heavy hitters are Ford, the only one declared, as well as expected entries from Caroline Mulroney and Rod Phillips. While sources tell the Sun that Mulroney is personally undecided, her former PM father Brian Mulroney is nudging her towards a yes.