It's traditionally one of the most nerve-wracking moments any political party leader deals with.

You've just lost an election. And therefore, at your next party convention, members will vote on whether they want you to continue in your job, or send you packing.

Back in 1983, federal PC Party leader Joe Clark got 66.9% of members to endorse his leadership. Clark thought that wasn't enough, so he resigned, and called for a leadership convention. He lost to Brian Mulroney later that year.

After he lost the 2007 Ontario election, then PC leader John Tory got that same 66.9% vote. Tory ultimately decided to stay on. He later resigned after losing a by-election.

Conversely, the Parti Quebecois' Pauline Marois recently received the support of more than 90% of her party's members. And yet, one week after that convention, the knives were back out for her. The high support seemed to resolve nothing.

Having lost last October's provincial election by just two percentage points to the Liberals, it now falls on Tim Hudak to find out whether he has adequate support to continue as leader.

Generally speaking, of course, leaders want as big a number as possible. Anything less than 60% support is usually considered fatal. The worst place to be is right where Clark and Tory were: about 2/3 support, which isn't that strong, but isn't so bad that it requires stepping down.

With all these different permutations in mind, we thought we'd invite longtime PC party activist John Mykytyshyn in, to tell us what's at stake for Hudak, and how things are looking for him in the days leading up to this momentous vote next week in Niagara Falls. Here's our interview: