Michael Ignatieff said Monday he will continue to gain support after emerging as the clear front-runner for the leadership of the federal Liberal party.

"I'm waking up in a very, very good position," the Toronto MP told reporters Monday, after unofficial results of three days of voting on the Liberals' "super weekend" put him in the lead with 30 per cent of the delegates nationally.

Liberal leadership candidate Michael Ignatieff talks to the media about delegate selection weekend results on Monday, Oct 2, 2006 in Toronto.
(Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

Ignatieff is followed by former Ontario premier Bob Rae with 19 per cent. Former Ontario education minister Gerard Kennedy and Stéphane Dion, the lone Quebec candidate and a former member of Paul Martin's cabinet, tied for third at 16 per cent.

The other contenders — MP Ken Dryden, sole Atlantic candidate Scott Brison, Toronto MP Joe Volpe and Toronto lawyer Martha Hall Findlay — have less than five per cent each. 

About 4,300 delegates were chosen to attend the convention in Montreal from Nov. 28 through Dec. 3, when the next leader of the Liberal party will be selected.

Each riding association tallies the percentage support for the leadership candidates and doles out delegates for each of the different candidates according to their level of support in the riding.

Support pledged

Delegates must vote on the first ballot for the candidate for whom their support was pledged. They are free to vote as they choose on subsequent ballots.

More than 80 per cent of results were reported Sunday.

While acknowledging "it's still a race," Ignatieff said he was confident of victory.

"I feel I will be gaining support in the coming months," he said.

Ignatieff was asked where he will get his support, considering his differences with some members of the party on issues such as his support for the war in Iraq and the mission in Afghanistan.

Ignatieff replied that people are drawn to candidates "who put out ideas clearly."

"The party is not looking for an administrator. The party is looking for a leader," he said.

Over the next two months, there will be a battle for delegate support on a second ballot and on subsequent ballots if needed. A candidate needs more than half of the votes cast to win the leadership, according to party rules.

Rae said he was pleased with the overall results, despite finishing in third-place in his home province.

"I don't think there is resistance to me in Ontario," Rae said, noting that there are a lot of candidates in the province and that his own campaign had started late.

Rae's challenge

For Rae, the challenge will be to convince delegates his past political experience is not a liability.

The other two candidates in the top four have their own challenges. Kennedy did not fare well in Quebec, while Dion did not garner a lot of support in Ontario.

Kennedy acknowledged there were regions where he needed to grow his support, but felt he had established a solid base from which to do so.

"What I like about my prospects is everywhere I've been known — for example, in Ontario, B.C. and Alberta, where I've been able to get known to the delegates —we've had a tremendous outcome," he said.

Dion said he still felt the outcome would be determined after the convention's second ballot, where delegates aren't bound by their choices from the past weekend. 

"I know many of [Ignatieff's] delegates are soft, and I know that they may change their minds," he said. "They have two months to listen to what I have to say."

Ignatieff is expected to try to appeal to delegates as the strongest national candidate, whose political inexperience is an asset in a party that is trying to rebuild itself following internal divisions and electoral defeat.

In more than half of the 75 Quebec constituencies, the party is allowing mail-in ballots, meaning official results are not expected until later in the week.

About 100 uncommitted delegates, roughly two per cent of the total, were also selected.
  
In addition to elected delegates, another 1,000 delegates are automatically able to attend the convention — MPs, senators, past candidates, riding presidents and assorted party officials who are not bound on the first ballot.

With files from the Canadian Press