The chairman of the Halifax Regional School Board will try his hand at provincial politics.

Irvine Carvery, who has chaired HRSB for the past four years, says he plans to seek a nomination for the Progressive Conservatives.

“I was approached by the leader, Jamie Baillie,” Carvery said on Monday.

“I had an opportunity to sit down with him and talk about the future of the Progressive Conservative party…. A lot of the things he was talking about resonated with me.”

Carvery said he is not sure what riding he will be seeking the nomination for. He lives in Halifax-Needham, a seat held by Health Minister Maureen MacDonald. MacDonald has held the riding since 1998, winning more than 67 per cent of the vote in 2009.

“I don’t want to be constrained by where I live,” Carvery said. “Particularly on the peninsula here ‘ it could be anywhere.”

A longtime NDP supporter, Carvery said he became disillusioned by the government’s “corporate welfare,” citing the recent bailout of Bowater Mersey, money for NewPage in Port Hawkesbury and investment in a private railway company in Cape Breton.

“The was a huge item for me, and Jamie assured me that under a Progressive Conservative government, his government would make sure that no one is left behind,” he said.