Cauchon joins race

OTTAWA—Former cabinet minister Martin Cauchon is making a late entry into the already-crowded federal Liberal leadership race.
Cauchon submitted his nomination papers and $75,000 entry fee just hours before the party’s registration deadline of midnight Sunday.

Assuming everything is in order and is verified by the party in the next day or two, Cauchon will become the ninth candidate seeking to lead the once-mighty party out of the political wilderness.
He is expected to officially launch his campaign later in the week—just in time for this Sunday’s first leadership debate in Vancouver.
Cauchon, who as justice minister spearheaded the move to decriminalize marijuana and legalize same-sex marriage, likely will position himself as a champion of progressive Liberalism amid a leadership field that so far has shown a pronounced rightward tilt.
Cauchon retired from politics in 2004; his attempt at a comeback in 2011 in his old Montreal riding of Outremont was thwarted by Tom Mulcair, now NDP leader.
He will be the third candidate from Quebec in the current contest, along with Trudeau and fellow Montreal MP Marc Garneau, Canada’s first astronaut.
The other candidates who’ve been officially confirmed by the party include Vancouver MP Joyce Murray, former Toronto MP Martha Hall Findlay, Toronto lawyers George Takach and Deborah Coyne, retired Canadian Forces officer Karen McCrimmon, and Ottawa lawyer David Bertschi.
The contest will culminate with the election of a new leader April 14.