Bob Rae will not seek the permanent leadership of the Liberal party and will continue as interim leader until the new leader is chosen, he announced this morning.

Rae was widely expected to enter the race and to be a top contender. He told his caucus at their weekly meeting and then made the announcement in the foyer of the House of Commons.

"It hasn't been an easy decision," Rae said. The interim leader said he wrestled with the decision and received plenty of encouragement but he's decided he can best serve his party by not running.

Rae said he will remain the MP for Toronto Centre and has no plans to quit politics. The 63-year-old said he is in good health and that while there will be commentary on his health, he said that speculation would be "bullshit."

Rae's announcement came just hours ahead of a conference call scheduled for Wednesday night when the party's national executive will set the ground rules for the leadership campaign. Liberals will choose their new leader in early 2013.

When Rae took the reins from outgoing Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff last spring, he agreed that he would not seek the job permanently. There is no rule prohibiting him from entering the race, but the executive could have forced him to step down as interim leader if he had decided to run.

Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae was expected to announce Wednesday that he won't run for the federal Liberal Party's leadership.Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae was expected to announce Wednesday that he won't run for the federal Liberal Party's leadership. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Rae had always said he would follow whatever rules were decided by the party and that he would wait until the rules were set before announcing his intention.

As recently as last week, sources were telling CBC News that Rae was preparing to give up the interim leadership post when the House adjourns for the summer recess at the end of June and that he would enter the race.

Rae told Evan Solomon, host of CBC News Network's Power and Politics, last week that his decision would be announced shortly after the executive's Wednesday night meeting.

"My understanding is the executive is going to be meeting next week. Once they've made their decision, you know, it'll take a few days for me to make mine," Rae told Solomon. "But it won't take long. I think things will be cleared up, you know, in June."

A person who was set to work on Bob Rae's leadership campaign told CBC News, "Meetings and calls were planned for the end of June and the first of July." The person said Rae's decision comes as a surprise and with disappointment, but the person could "appreciate where Rae is coming from."

With Rae out of the race, attention will quickly turn to who is in — and much of the focus will be on Justin Trudeau. He has said in recent days that he is facing a lot of pressure to run for the leadership.

Factors to consider

P.E.I. Liberal MP Wayne Easter said Trudeau has a few factors to consider.

"He has to look at what he can do for the country, for the party, for the nation," Easter said Wednesday morning.

"He's got the second side of the coin: he has a young family, he knows what it's like to be a son of a prime minister and what that takes away from the family in terms of a prime minister's responsibility and a leader of a party's responsibility for their party and their country.

"So he'd have to weigh all those factors …. Of course it would be a good thing for the party if [Trudeau] were to run. But there's lots of good candidates out there. He'd give it excitement. There's the heritage, there's the name, there's Justin's charisma, so all those factors."

On the way into the Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday morning, MPs Denis Coderre, Marc Garneau and Dominic LeBlanc all said they have not ruled out running for the leadership.