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OTTAWA — Deepak Obhrai, the dean of the Tory caucus, says he’s jumping into the Conservative leadership race.

Obhrai, a Calgary MP for nearly two decades, revealed his intentions to join the leadership contest in an email sent Thursday to Conservative colleagues, a copy of which was obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.

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“Having served in the ‘conservative caucus’ (Reform Party, Canadian Alliance, Progressive Conservative, and Conservative Party) for 19 years (becoming the Dean) I have had the distinction to serve with outstanding conservatives and now the current caucus. I have learnt a lot through all these years,” Obhrai, 66, says in the email.

“Upon winning my seat in 1997 I was made the outreach coordinator to bring new Canadians into the conservative fold. This allowed me to travel across the country. Jason Kenney and (former Conservative MP) Tim Uppal continued on with the effort when we formed the government. They have done a good job while I moved on to Foreign Affairs and International Development,” he added.