The federal Conservatives are courting former CFL commissioner Larry Smith in the hope of winning a Montreal riding for the first time in two decades.
A Tory riding association on the island says it has approached Smith, most recently the president of the Montreal Alouettes, about running for the party.
An executive with the Tories' Lac-Saint-Louis riding association also says his group has been informed the football figure has expressed an interest in running.
If so, the Tories might have their best chance of breaking into Montreal since the end of the Mulroney era in 1993.
They have been distant also-rans in that riding, and across the city, in recent elections -- and Montreal has proven, for the Tories, to be an even tougher nut to crack than Toronto.
Smith announced earlier this week that he will step down as president and CEO of the Montreal Alouettes at the end of the year.
This isn't the first time the ex-Alouettes player and former newspaper publisher has expressed interest in politics, or the Conservative party.
He considered a run for the leadership of the Tories in 2004.
