I think that he's already convinced himself to run.

All that posturing about carbon tax is positioning himself to enter the race as the anti-environment candidate.

And by waiting he, like O'Leary, can dodge most of the debates, particularly the forth-coming French-language debate wherein he would have been humiliated.

He wants out of SK as the excrement is hitting the economy fan there and he doesn't want it to get all over him as the people of SK might clue in to how clueless he really is.

Hence the timely exit to the federal job.