The Senate carpet gets a once-over on Sept. 10, 2009.CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters
Some send notes, pass messages through friends, or just wait nervously by the phone. But only Prime Minister Stephen Harper decides who gets the political reward of a Senate seat.
Mr. Harper is poised to name five new senators before March 3, and likely within a week or two. The new arrivals, for the first time under Mr. Harper, will make the Conservatives the largest party in the Senate, so one criterion is likely to trump all: being a Tory.
Insiders say there is another key qualification in this round of appointments: experience in a legislature. Although senators are often chosen from other fields - former NHL coach Jacques Demers went in with the last batch - the Conservative leadership believes it needs to shore up legislative experience to help drive government bills through the Senate. The Conservatives also want to make sure they grab the maximum benefit from their new-found control over Senate committees, where much of the legislative work is conducted.
Although rumours abound, here are some of the names that Tory insiders say are under consideration:
Ontario
Two vacancies
There have been rumours that former Tory leader John Tory, who said this week he won't run for Toronto's mayoralty, could get the nod for the Senate. But insiders say the more likely candidate is provincial Conservative veteran Bob Runciman, 67.
Mr. Tory, 55, doesn't have great relationships with Mr. Harper's senior Ontario ministers, Jim Flaherty and John Baird. Mr. Runciman does, and he was an early supporter of Mr. Harper.
Quebec
One vacancy
One name has circulated most prominently in Quebec - that of former judge Andrée Ruffo, 67. She's well-known for taking tough positions to defend children, a note that strikes a chord with the Harper Tories.
Former Mulroney cabinet minister Benoit Bouchard, 69, also gets mentioned as an outside-shot candidate, while Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu is said to be in the mix. Mr. Boisvenu, 59, who lost a daughter to a violent crime, is the founder of Murdered or Missing Persons' Families' Association.
Newfoundland
One vacancy
Numerous names have been rolling around the Senate gossip circuit in Newfoundland. But two Loyolas top the list.
The first is former fisheries minister Loyola Hearn, a 66-year-old PCer who helped smooth the merger with the old Canadian Alliance, and quit politics before the last election. Reached at his home in Renews this week, Mr. Hearn said that, despite the rumours, no one has contacted him about a Senate post.
More likely is former provincial cabinet minister Loyola Sullivan, 60, who has more recently been trotting the globe as Mr. Harper's fisheries ambassador in a faint-hope campaign to prevent sanctions against the East Coast seal hunt.
Whoever gets the seat will be expected to help smooth relations between the Harper Conservatives in Ottawa and Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams.
New Brunswick
One vacancy
One high-profile name rumoured for Mr. Harper's Senate is that of former New Brunswick premier Bernard Lord, 44, but several insiders said Mr. Lord doesn't want the post because he still harbours federal political ambitions.
More likely, said one Conservative source, is a former member of Mr. Lord's cabinet, Margaret-Ann Blaney, 48, who would hold the advantages of being a relatively young woman with legislative experience.