HALIFAX -- The five candidates vying to become the next leader of Nova Scotia's Progressive Conservatives gave their final pitches to hundreds of delegates gathered at the party's leadership convention in Halifax on Friday.

Tory caucus members Tim Houston, John Lohr and Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor Cecil Clarke and Julie Chaisson, executive director of the Halifax Seaport Market, are vying to succeed former PC leader Jamie Baillie.

The leadership race started when Baillie announced he would step down as leader last November, then resigned in January amid unspecified allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

All five leadership hopefuls have spent months travelling the province to sign up party members, a process that saw more than 11,600 people purchase memberships.

Party officials said more than 75 per cent of the people who joined the party had already participated in advance voting.

First on stage Friday was Houston, the party's finance critic and the perceived front-runner in the race, who was often the target of the other candidates during a series of six spirited debates during the campaign.

"We are more united than divided," said Houston, who took pains to extend olive branches to the other candidates and possible undecided delegates.

"We need a leader who can grow the party," he said. "We need a leader who can inspire your friends and neighbours to vote for us ... folks, I am that leader."

Houston said the party has to present a "vision for change" to voters when it comes to issues like fixing the province's overburdened health care system and struggling economy.

"Change is coming," he said.

Smith-McCrossin, a former nurse and small-business owner, championed private-sector job growth on the campaign trail.

She told delegates she would provide the best contrast as leader when compared to Liberal Premier Stephen NcNeil and NDP Leader Gary Burrill.

"I want you to picture the contrast, the difference in energy and the difference in ideas. Think of the clear choice that we will offer Nova Scotians," Smith-McCrossin said.

Chaisson, Clarke and Lohr were to follow Smith-McCrossin's speech Friday, and party members will select a new leader on Saturday through a vote that will use ranked ballots and weighted ridings.

Each of the province's 51 constituencies will count for 100 points, allocated according to the proportion of votes each candidate receives from that riding.

Clarke, who is seen as Houston's main rival, has campaigned as an experienced hand, the candidate best equipped to take over as premier, while Chaisson positioned herself as a party outsider and a voice for change.

Lohr has gained attention by claiming ground as an unabashed conservative on social issues, and by professing his support for oil and gas exploration using hydraulic fracturing.

The convention's keynote speech will be delivered Saturday by federal Conservative Leader Andrew Sheer. Party members will also pay tribute to outgoing Interim leader Karla MacFarlane.

Voting is expected to begin around 10:30 a.m., with the initial results expected around 1 p.m.