OTTAWA - Candidates will pay almost double the 2006 fee to enter the Liberal leadership race which will culminate at a Vancouver convention next May.

The Liberal national executive decided Saturday to simply turn a previously scheduled policy convention, booked for April 30-May 3, into a convention to choose a successor to Stephane Dion.

The high entrance fee -- $90,000 compared to $50,000 in 2006 -- could deter some dark horse candidates from entering the fray.

Each candidate will be able to spend only $1.5 million -- less than half the $3.4-million spending limit imposed for the 11-month race in 2006.

As well, candidates will have to give 10 per cent of all money they raise to the cash-strapped party.

Potential contender Gerard Kennedy said the entry fee and spending limit are "kind of high" and may discourage those without deep pockets from entering the race.

He said the rules appear to reflect a desire among some Liberals to "streamline" the leadership race and get it over with "lickety-split."

"It will give an advantage to those who have a lot of heavy-duty financial supporters as opposed to people who run a more grassroots campaign," he said in an interview.

Kennedy, who still owes just under $200,000 from the 2006 leadership contest, said the spending limit and entry fee by themselves won't preclude him from jumping into the fray this time. He expects to announce his decision next week.

Still, Kennedy added: "It would have been more of a level playing field had it been lower."

The executive did at least rule out a proposal from the Quebec wing of the party that would have prohibited Kennedy and others with outstanding debt from 2006 from running again this time.

Kennedy was also pleased with the choice of Vancouver.

The executive had been under considerable pressure from some factions in the party to move the convention to a location in Central Canada, something that rival camps complained would have benefited perceived front-runner Michael Ignatieff.

Insiders have said the only other plausible venue for the convention was Toronto but that would have required moving up the date of the gathering to mid-April. Under party rules, that would have meant cutting off membership sales as early as December, leaving little time for dark horse contenders to recruit supporters.

"This decision, it is hoped, will energize our grassroots in a region of the country which has never hosted a Liberal leadership convention," party president Doug Ferguson said in a news release.

Toronto MP Bob Rae and New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc have already declared their intention to seek the party's top job.

Rae said he's happy about the timing and location of the convention and "will live with the rest."

"(I) would have preferred a lower threshold," he said.

Cyrus Reporter, a spokesman for LeBlanc, said his camp is satisfied with the decisions so far. He said the spending limit and entry fee are within "a reasonable range."

Ignatieff, who is also certain to run, had no immediate comment Saturday on the executive's choice of location or the spending rules.

Others who are seriously thinking about tossing their hats in the ring include former cabinet minister Martin Cauchon, Toronto MP Martha Hall Findlay, Montreal MP Denis Coderre, Ottawa MP David McGuinty and Brampton MP Ruby Dhalla.

The contest could feature some of the same faces who ran for the top spot in 2006.

In the last race, Dion scored a stunning come-from-behind victory over Ignatieff and Rae after Kennedy and Hall Findlay tossed him their support.

Dion led the party to one of its worst showings in history in the Oct. 14 election. Shortly thereafter, he announced he'll step aside as soon as a successor is chosen.

The executive will meet again Sunday to thrash out more rules that will govern the race.