Marissen was his National Campaign Director. One-time Progressive Conservative leadership aspirant David Orchard also announced his support of Dion. Additional high-profile supporters included then-leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party David Karwacki, Jamie Elmhirst, the President of the British Columbia wing of the Party, Adam Campbell, the President of the Alberta wing of the Party, former Green Party of Canada deputy leader Tom Manley, former Prime Minister Paul Martin's Chief of Staff Tim Murphy, Herb Metcalfe, former John Manley Campaign Chair, and Marc-Boris Saint-Maurice the co-founder and former leader of the Marijuana Party of Canada. Former Justice minister Allan Rock endorsed Dion on December 1. At the convention, Dion received endorsements from eighth-place Martha Hall Findlay (eliminated on the first ballot) and – critically – fourth-place Gerard Kennedy, who withdrew after the second ballot. Ken Dryden and Joe Volpe, who both had endorsed Bob Rae after withdrawing, threw their support to Dion before the final ballot as well. Supporters in caucus prior to first ballot: 17 MPs: 11 Sue Barnes, Colleen Beaumier, Bonnie Brown, Stéphane Dion, Charles Hubbard, Marlene Jennings, Nancy Karetak-Lindell, Glen Pearson*, Francis Scarpaleggia, Paul Steckle, Bryon Wilfert Senators: 7 Sen. Tommy Banks, Sen. John Bryden, Sen. Maria Chaput, Sen. Joan Fraser, Sen. Vivienne Poy, Sen. Fernand Robichaud, Sen. Claudette Tardif * Glen Pearson is an MP-elect, having won the November 27th by-election in London North Centre. Supporters picked up after first ballot MPs: 1 Mark Eyking Supporters picked up after second ballot MPs: Omar Alghabra, Navdeep Bains, Raymond Chan, Mark Holland Supporters picked up after third ballot MPs: Maurizio Bevilacqua, Ujjal Dosanjh, Ken Dryden, Hedy Fry, John Godfrey, Ralph Goodale, Susan Kadis, Jim Karygiannis, Joe Volpe Senators: 3 Jerry Grafstein, Frank Mahovlich, Jack Austin Date campaign launched: April 7, 2006 Date officially registered: May 24, 2006 Ken Dryden Ken Dryden, 59, had been Social Development minister (2004–2006) under Martin. A former star goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, Dryden was elected in 2004 as a star candidate for the Liberals. He was instrumental in putting forward a child care strategy during the Martin government. Dryden, who wrote a book about the public education system, stressed the importance of improving the education system in order to keep Canada competitive. "Learning is at the core of our future—for a person, a society, an economy, a country," Dryden said. "Learning is our only real security, our only real opportunity, and