Jean Charest set to launch Conservative leadership campaign today

Former Quebec premier Jean Charest is to appear in Calgary today to formally launch his campaign for the Conservative Party of Canada leadership.

Charest's bid to lead the Tories means he's re-entering federal politics for the first time in more than 20 years.

Charest, who is 63, was first elected as an MP in 1984 in former prime minister Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative government and became a cabinet minister before he was 30.

He went on to lead the Tories for several years until 1998, when he left federal politics to lead the Quebec Liberal party.

Charest served as Quebec's premier from 2003 to 2012 before he was defeated in an election that followed massive student protests.