MONTREAL—At a Liberal fundraiser on Friday night, Bourassa MP Denis Coderre left few in a room of 1,200 supporters wondering about his intention to eventually make the switch to municipal politics.

“I’m considering running for mayor in November 2013,” said Coderre, surrounded by his family. “We need to bring back the soul of this great metropolis.”

Stopping short of making an official announcement, Coderre did pitch himself as a man who could tackle the turmoil at city hall.

“My decision hasn’t been made because I don’t want to play both sides. This party has gave me 30 years, 15 of them in parliament, it deserves a few more months,” said Coderre.

Friday’s event in Anjou was held to mark Coderre’s 15th year as an MP. Switching from Creole to Italian, Portuguese and Arabic, Coderre vowed to stick with the federal Liberals until a new leader is chosen in April.

After a leader is chosen, few have any doubts about Coderre’s plan at that moment. In Quebec politics five months is a long time and it remains to be seen if the city’s top job is as attractive then as it was on Friday night at a spaghetti dinner in an Anjou banquet hall.