OTTAWA - Toronto lawyer Leslyn Lewis is running for leadership of the federal Conservative party.
Her campaign says she was officially accepted into the race this week, after submitting the required application, fee and signatures.
She becomes the first woman registered to run, though current MP Marilyn Gladu is also working on meeting the formal requirements.
Lewis has had a long legal career in Toronto, where she moved with her parents from Jamaica when she was a child.
On her website she says she wants to run for the leadership because she sees the opportunities that were provided to her family falling away.
She has already been endorsed by the Campaign Life Coalition, a pro-life organization that has had major influence in past Conservative leadership contests.
There are two other candidates officially in the leadership contest — Erin O'Toole and Peter MacKay — and several others trying to meet the entry requirements by the Feb. 27 deadline.