Diane Finley intends to run for interim Conservative leader

Diane Finley in Halifax on Feb. 6, 2014. (Andrew Vaughan / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA - Longtime MP and former cabinet minister Diane Finley says she intends to run for the interim leadership of the Conservative party.

The reduced caucus of 99 MPs is responsible for electing the interim position, but the date for their next meeting has yet to be set and it is uncertain whether Conservative senators will also have a say.

The 58-year-old former businesswoman says she has experience managing change and building operations, and has also sat in opposition in the Commons.

Finley says Conservative MPs will have to learn how to transition into opposition, where they will not have the resources of government at their disposal for such things as research and speechwriting.

The position of leader of the official Opposition comes with a number of perks, including a car and driver, use of the official residence at Stornoway, and a salary bump of $80,100.

Finley would follow in the footsteps of Deborah Grey, who was interim Canadian Alliance leader in 2000 and the first woman in Canadian history to serve as leader of the official Opposition.