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John Manley said Monday he is looking into the possibility of entering a bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party, presenting himself as the kind of leader who would run the kind of centrist party that Canadians want.

“Canadians have shown in the past, generally speaking, they are cautious about electing a new government if it's offering a sharp turn in direction,” Mr. Manley told reporters following a speech to the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce. “They want to be governed from the centre.”

Mr. Manley, a former high-ranking Liberal MP and cabinet minister during the Chrétien government, said he has been approached about replacing outgoing Leader Stéphane Dion, and is testing the waters to see if the support is there for him to make a bid.

“I hear from a lot of people in different parts of the country that they would like me to run and quite frankly I'm assessing it from both a political and personal perspective,” Mr. Manley told reporters after giving a speech at the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce Monday morning.

At a time when economic issues dominate much of Canada's – and the world's – political debate, Mr. Manley's previous experience as finance minister would likely be a significant advantage in any leadership race. Mr. Manley also served as deputy Prime Minister, minister of industry and foreign affairs minister. However many of Mr. Manley supporters from his failed 2003 Liberal leadership attempt have since migrated to other contenders, and it is unclear whether Mr. Manley can muster the organization and money necessary for another run.

Mr. Manley also made it clear that a leadership bid is not yet a done deal, and that he is only gauging support at the moment.

“I'm not jumping off the diving board until I'm pretty sure there's some water in the pool,” Mr. Manley said. “Money is part of it, support is part of it, organizational structure is part of it.”

It is widely believed that current Liberal MPs Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff – who lost to Mr. Dion during the last leadership race – will be among those running for the party's top job.

Mr. Manley said he believes the Liberals can win the next election. He said he expects the next 18 to 24 months to be difficult for the government, and that will create political opportunities.

If Mr. Manley does join the race, it will not be the first time he has run for the job. He made a leadership bid in 2003, but eventually withdrew in the face of Paul Martin, who won as expected. Mr. Manley announced his decision to retire from politics a few months after the leadership race.

“I tried to come from behind in 2003, and it's very hard if there's not enough oxygen out there,” Mr. Manley said, explaining why he won't fully commit to a leadership run.

Money was a serious issue for Mr. Manley during the 2003 leadership bid – although Mr. Martin was expected to win regardless. When Mr. Manley dropped out of the race, Liberal insiders at the time said his campaign had run out of cash.

Now employed with law firm McCarthy Tétrault, Mr. Manley sits on a number of corporate boards of directors and has chaired multiple task forces. Last year, Prime Minister Stephen Harper named Mr. Manley chair of the Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan.