Jim Prentice
Jim Prentice is a lawyer from Calgary, Alberta.
Prentice first gained some level of prominence as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the spring 2002 by-election in the riding of Calgary Southwest, facing off against Canadian Alliance nominee Ezra Levant. After Levant gave up his nomination to newly elected Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper, Prentice withdrew from the race.
He ran for the Leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003, finishing 2nd to Peter MacKay.
Prentice was the first declared candidate for the leadership of the new Conservative Party of Canada, announcing his run on December 7, 2003, the day after ratification of the new party. However, he withdrew from the race on January 12, 2004, citing difficulty in raising new funds less than a year after his unsuccessful first leadership bid.
Prentice reiterated his committment to run in the riding of Calgary North Centre in the coming election.