The longtime mayor of the St-Laurent borough is eying a run at federal politics.

On Friday, Alan DeSousa announced his intention to run for Liberal nomination in the riding of St. Laurent..

The riding was the longtime seat of Stephane Dion, the former Liberal leader and foreign affairs minister who retired from the House of Commons after being shuffled out of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet in January.

Dion has accepted a position as Canada’s ambassador to Germany and the European Union.

DeSousa, a former member of Montreal’s Executive Committee, has been the mayor of the St. Laurent borough since it was first created in 2002. He’s lived in the riding for more than 40 years.

Several other people have reportedly begun eying runs for the nomination in the Liberal stronghold.

Among them is former Quebec Liberal Party MNA Yolande James, the first black cabinet minister in the province’s history.

James left provincial politics in 2014 to spend more time with her young child.

She has not made a formal announcement but recently took a leave of absence from her job as a political analyst at Radio-Canada to reflect on running.

A source within her campaign told CTV she intends to bid for the Liberal nomination.

Businessman and financier Francois Lambert, a former dragon on Quebec's version of "Dragons' Den," said he is considering a run.

"Is it good timing for me?" Lambert asked in an interview. "I think so, but we'll have to see what each candidate brings and then we'll see what's best for the (Liberal) party.

"James and DeSousa are also well-known. It's not a popularity contest and it should be a race for the right reasons."

Tax law professor Marwah Rizqy has also confirmed her candidacy for the Liberals.

She ran for the party in the 2015 election and finished a few hundred votes behind the New Democratic Party candidate in a Montreal riding considered a lost cause for the Grits.

Dion, MP for the area since 1996, quit politics recently and was then named ambassador to the European Union and Germany.

With a report from The Canadian Press