Patrick Brown expects to learn today whether or not the Progressive Conservatives will let him run for his old job.
He met with a party nomination committee yesterday who is vetting all the candidates for their suitability to lead the party into the spring election.
Rushing to Brown's defence is his 23 year old girlfriend Genevieve Gualtieri and she tells the Toronto Star, Brown is one of the most respectful, decent and caring people she knows.
Colleagues say the two met two years ago when she was a young intern working for Brown when he was an MP.
Gualtieri has been dragged into the controversy by Tory MPP Randy Hillier.
Hillier claims lobbyists paid for Gualtieri to accompany Brown on a trip to India.
Hillier has filed a complaint about the trip with ethics watchdogs.