Paul Martin intends to officially step down as Liberal Leader on March 19 when party executives meet in Ottawa to set a convention date.

The former prime minister has sent a letter of resignation to Liberal Party President Mike Eizenga declaring he will step aside as soon as the party schedules a leadership convention date.

The party's constitution stipulates one must be held within a year of the leader's resignation, which means a convention will be scheduled some time between this weekend and March 19, 2007.

Martin's move douses any speculation he would try to lead the party into the next federal election.

"I wish to confirm my intention to resign as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada upon the formal call of the convention," says Martin's note.

"It has been an honour and my great pleasure to serve as leader and to have worked with so many dedicated volunteers, candidates, caucus members and party officials.

"I look forward to continuing to serve and contribute to the party that I have always and will always regard as my second family."

After the Liberals lost the federal election on Jan. 23, Bill Graham took over as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, but Martin remained on as leader of the party.

This weekend, the Liberal Executive is expected to be asked to formally appoint Graham as Interim Leader of the party until the convention takes place.

"Only if, for some reason, the government falls, there is an election and the Liberals win, Mr. Graham presumably would lead them into an election should that be held," CTV's David Akin said from Ottawa.

So far, Martha Hall Findlay, a 46-year-old Toronto lawyer, is the only declared candidate.

Findlay, who has already begun wooing supporters, said one of the reasons she entered politics was out of respect "for what Paul Martin was doing as finance minister.

"We can't ignore the past. In fact, what we need to do is recognize where we might not have been perfect and learn from those and take that so we can look forward more strongly," Findlay told CTV Newsnet's Mike Duffy Live.

The Liberals are still waiting for a candidate to emerge as the front-runner after a series of high-profile potential candidates chose not to run, leaving the race wide open.

"I think the leadership process will be a pretty robust one this time. We certainly have a lot of people who are keen to put their hats in the ring," Eizenga told CTV News.

That list of possible candidates include former ministers such as Belinda Stronach, Ken Dryden, Joe Volpe, Scott Brison, Maurizio Bevilacqua, John Godfrey and Tony Ianno.

Many have been testing the waters in recent weeks with speaking engagements across the country.

Former Ontario Premier Bob Rae recently acknowledged he is seriously considering throwing his hat into the race to replace Paul Martin.

He is widely expected to announce his decision in the next few days, but said he has a lot to think about after being out of politics for about a decade.

"To go back in is a change and it would be a change in my life, which is quite a big deal," Rae said following his speech at a Canadian Club luncheon in Winnipeg earlier this week.

"Then there's always the question of: What can you do? And then there's another question, which is: Have you got a chance? I don't know the answer to those questions."

Akin noted that some of the leadership candidates in the race would like an earlier convention, perhaps sometime in mid-fall, whereas others who are more behind in their planning would like it postponed as late as possible.

"And a lot of those candidates, speaking through various movers and shakers in the different camps, have been really waiting for the rules to come out," Akin said, appearing on CTV Newsnet.

"They'd like to know when (the convention) is going to be held, what will some of the limits be on spending, and what will the entry fee be?"

Speculation is that the fee to enter the leadership race will cost candidates around $75,000.

Meanwhile, leadership contenders are courting MPs before the campaigning gets going in earnest.

"It's a leadership where you're going to have a tremendous grassroots organization from coast to coast, and to do that you're going to need the support of the MPs," Ontario MP Ruby Dhalla, who's fielded eight calls, told The Canadian Press.

"I'm at a loss. I really haven't made up my mind who I'm going to support," says 18-year Commons veteran Diane Marleau, who has heard from a half-dozen people.

"In a way I think it's a great thing, because there are a lot of people like me who haven't decided. It makes room for great debate, time to decide who will do the best job for us."