David Orchard, a Saskatchewan farmer and environmental activist, announced Tuesday he would be running for the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservative Party.

Orchard, 53, is the third candidate to officially announce he will be running for the Tory leadership. Last Thursday, Nova Scotia MP Peter MacKay and Calgary lawyer Jim Prentice launched their leadership campaigns.

In a news conference Tuesday in Ottawa, Orchard, who has raised organically grown crops for 27 years, said he wants to conserve the environment.

"What I want first and foremost is to conserve our environment and guarantee the clear air and safe food and drinking water for Canadians," he told reporters.

However, he rejected accusations that he is against free trade.

"I have been accused of being against trade, of being against the very idea of free trade," he said, saying the charge reminds him of the time when Mahatma Ghandi visited England and was asked what he thought of Western civilization.

"His reply was that he thought it would be a good," Orchard said. "Likewise, I think free trade would be a good idea."

Orchard founded Citizens Concerned About Free Trade in 1985, a non-partisan organization critical of the effects of Canadian sovereignty of free-trade with the United States.

Last week, Prentice said: "There's no room in this party for a leader who does not believe in free trade."

Orchard opposes provincial separatism. He campaigned against the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords, saying they weakened central government.

Before taking over the family farm in Borden, Sask., Orchard did a year of law at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. He later studied French at Laval University.

Orchard lost a 1998 Tory leadership race to Joe Clark. He was the only candidate to go to a second ballot against Clark, who eventually won by a landslide. In the 2000 federal election, Orchard was defeated as the Tory candidate in the riding of Prince Albert.

He is known for attracting a dedicated group of supporters who tend to come from outside the traditional party ranks.

On June 1, the Tories will choose a leader to replace Joe Clark, who announced last August he would be stepping down.

With a report from The Canadian Press