And then there were two. NDP MP Charlie Angus has officially registered with Elections Canada to be a contestant in the race for the NDP leadership.

Elections Canada has quietly posted his registration information online, making him officially the second candidate to enter the race. The posting shows that he registered Monday of this week.

Speculation has been ramping up that Angus would soon announce a bid to replace Tom Mulcair as party leader.

Angus is hosting a party in Toronto Sunday at the Horseshoe Tavern, where he saw his first punk rock show as a teen. That provoked media (and others) to wonder whether the party would turn out to be a backdrop to for his leadership run announcement.

We’re having a political/musical party: Horseshoe Tavern Sunday Feb 26 doors open at 1 #gotyourback https://t.co/z4sVGKDNUz — Charlie Angus NDP (@CharlieAngusNDP) February 21, 2017

When iPolitics asked Angus last weekend what the party was for, he was coy. “Come by the shoe and see,” he said. “(It) will be a fun day.”

The will-he-won’t-he speculation has gone on since the fall, when Angus dropped his position as caucus chair, indicating a run was imminent.

Angus’ full contestant registration report has not yet been posted by Elections Canada, although those forms are often mostly blank for early entrants unless they’ve already started fundraising. Peter Julian, the only other candidate so far, got a head start by registering in December of last year, according to the last quarterly political fundraising reports. Julian has already raised at least $32,000 and announced a first round of caucus endorsements earlier this week.

Those still mulling over whether to launch leadership bids – unless they plan on pulling a Kevin O’Leary by entering late – are quickly running out of runway. The first NDP leadership debate is set for March 12, making the next two weeks a prime period for a campaign launch.

According to the Canadian Press, Quebec NDP MP Guy Caron is expected to make a decision before Tuesday on whether to run, and the Toronto Star is suggesting that Jagmeet Singh has a team quietly organizing for him behind the scenes to potentially launch his bid for leadership.

The party announced details on the projected debate lineup for the year last Friday, along with other technical details on how the race will unfold. Runoff voting, which could stretch throughout the month of October, means there’s not one specific day set for an announcement to declare a new leader; the announcement could come as a surprise on any Sunday that month after a candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the votes.