A former PC cabinet minister expects that Leader Ches Crosbie will step down sooner rather than later and that the party will use the next couple of years to set up a leadership campaign.

Crosbie lost to Liberal John Hogan in Windsor Lake on the weekend.

Sandy Collins, who used to represent Terra Nova, is not in favour of the PCs embarking on a series of court challenges to the election results. He would rather see the party appoint an interim leader and accept that the Liberals will be in power for another four years.

Collins would like to see a leadership convention near the end of the four years. With the right leader, Collins believes the PCs would then be in a position to form government.