And then there were three.

The race to lead the Progressive Conservatives will be whittled down to a trio of candidates Friday after the departure of MPP Lisa MacLeod (Nepean-Carleton).

MacLeod said she’s been “under enormous pressure from my constituents to seek the federal nomination to replace John Baird,” who retired as foreign affairs minister Tuesday and will soon step down as MP.

“I have a tough decision to make and the people who have consistently given me massive majorities to go to Queen’s Park matter an awful lot to me,” she said Thursday.

Her exit will come two days after MPP Vic Fedeli (Nipissing) stepped aside to endorse front-runner Christine Elliott, the MPP for Whitby-Oshawa.

With no federal byelection set to replace Baird and a general election expected later this year, MacLeod will not immediately resign as an MPP.

Elliott’s last remaining rivals are MPP Monte McNaughton (Lambton-Kent-Middlesex) and MP Patrick Brown (Barrie).

Friday is the deadline for the final non-refundable $50,000 instalment of the fee to enter the race to find a full-time successor to former leader Tim Hudak.

All three surviving candidates say they will be on the ballot when a new chief is announced May 9 at a Toronto convention.

McNaughton is holding a large fundraiser with his most prominent supporter, former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, Saturday in Etobicoke.

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