Former deputy prime minister John Manley said yesterday that he is keeping in touch with his network of supporters and that he won't sacrifice his principles should he one day make another run for "the job" of leading the Liberal Party.

With a federal election assured to take place within a year, it is widely expected that Prime Minister Paul Martin would face pressure to resign as party leader should the Liberals lose, and perhaps even if they retain only a slim minority.

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He said such policies would either enhance Canadian sovereignty or are in synch with the views of the Liberal Party, which he may one day attempt to lead.

"In the long term, I don't want the job at the cost of my beliefs and convictions," he said. "The Liberal Party, other than the 1988 election, has been the continentalist party. And I don't think I'm out of that trend."

Also from the article:

"Mr. Manley generated controversy this month after a report from a task force he chaired called for extensive integration with the United States and Mexico in the form of a North American security perimeter.

The former minister, who practises law in Ottawa after choosing not to run in the last election, used his speech yesterday morning to the Conference Board of Canada to urge Canadians not to view a perimeter as a threat to the country's sovereignty."

Full story: Manley waiting in wings to lead Grits if PM stumbles