nuckin_futz Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Kevin O’Leary mulls Conservative leadership bid Celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary said he is considering running for leadership of Conservative Party of Canada. Former Dragon's Den member Kevin O'Leary is considering running for the leadership of the Conservative Party. He says it's all about the economy. By: Joanna Smith Ottawa Bureau reporter, Published on Thu Jan 14 2016 OTTAWA — Donald Trump is not the only celebrity businessman with his eye on high political office. Kevin O’Leary, the chairman of O’Leary Financial Group, probably best known to Canadians as a former investor panelist on the CBC show Dragons’ Den, said he is thinking about joining the Conservative party leadership race. And while he considers himself “agnostic” as far as partisan politics go — and does not speak French, although he says he knows Quebec because he was born there — O’Leary said he has the one qualification he believes should be the price of admission for any aspiring political leader. “If you are going to run for leadership in any party, whether municipal as a mayor or provincial as a premier or the prime minister of the country, you shouldn’t be allowed to unless you’ve at least made payroll in a business for at least two years that has $5 million in sales,” O’Leary said in an interview Thursday. “Otherwise, you are completely oblivious to the challenges that the most important sector has in our country: those business leaders that create private sector jobs. And that’s why our policies are broken, because most of our leaders have never had any experience running a business.” The announcement that he was considering a bid — on the heels of his promise earlier this week to invest $1 million in the Canadian oil industry on the condition NDP Alberta Premier Rachel Notley resign — drew immediate comparisons to Trump, the unexpected frontrunner for the U.S. Republican presidential nomination. But the viewing of the world through the lens of business, the reality television show (and, perhaps, the brash personality) is where those comparisons should end, O’Leary said Thursday as he expanded on his desire to save the sinking Canadian dollar. “I’m not anywhere near the policy direction that Trump is going. I’m a Lebanese-Irish Canadian born in Montreal. I’m very inclusive in the way I look at Canada,” O’Leary said when asked to compare himself to Trump, whose plans for U.S. immigration policy would not be described as inclusive. O’Leary, who is an investor on the ABC reality television show Shark Tank, where he is known for his tough, show-me-the-money responses to aspiring entrepreneurs, said he is motivated by his experience teaching business and engineering students who plan to leave Canada to begin their careers. “They don’t want to be paid in ‘dollarettes.’ They don’t want to be taxed at 58 per cent. They perceive their opportunity and career as much higher somewhere else . . . . There’s a big problem, there.” O’Leary said it reminded him of the ‘brain drain’ in the 1990s that first sent him to the U.S. because he had trouble raising capital. “I don’t like that and that’s not my vision of what Canada can be. It can be a very successful, competitive country, but it’s being misled now at both the provincial and federal level. I congratulate Justin Trudeau in his new mandate as the prime minister, but he spent his first 60 days making commitments all around the globe. He spent about $4.2-billion. He didn’t create one incremental Canadian job. That’s a problem,” O’Leary said. O’Leary said the economy is “the only theme” of his would-be leadership race, which also includes ideas to let the private sector handle a stimulus program and to make building pipelines a federal mandate. His thoughts on foreign policy, however, may not be entirely embraced by the Conservative fold. “The flag you want on the back of your backpack when you travel in the Middle East is a Canadian flag. I don’t see the need for us to be warmongers. We should pick our place as the greatest peacekeepers on earth,” O’Leary said when asked what he would do about the Islamic State if he were prime minister. The Conservative Party of Canada is expected to hold its leadership convention to find a successor to former prime minister Stephen Harper sometime in 2017. Rona Ambrose is currently interim party leader. Potential contenders to lead the Conservatives: Tony Clement — Currently the MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka, Clement has tried his hand at the Conservative leadership before, finishing third in the 2004 contest won by Stephen Harper. Clement has held cabinet posts at Queen’s Park and Ottawa. Kellie Leitch — Leitch jumped into politics with an already impressive resumé, as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and an associate professor of surgery who also held an MBA. She was first elected as MP for the Ontario riding of Simcoe-Grey in 2011. Lisa Raitt — The Toronto-area MP held several cabinet posts, including transport when the Conservatives were in power, and will be in the spotlight now as the party’s finance critic. She is popular and made friends on both sides of the aisle in the Commons. Jason Kenney — Long time party stalwart who was first elected in 1997 for the Reform party. He held high-profile portfolios such as immigration, defence and employment and social development. Kenney is perceived as the front-runner if he decides to enter the race -- and his success at fundraising would give him a leg up on opponents – but there’s speculation he may jump into Alberta provincial politics. Peter MacKay — Another long-time Tory, MacKay came from the Progressive Conservative side of the party — he is a former leader of the party — and would be seen as a red Tory. However, the Nova Scotia native left politics before the 2015 election, citing a desire to spend more time with family. The question is whether he would want to return. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/01/14/ex-dragon-kevin-oleary-mulls-conservative-leadership-bid.html ********************************* Certainly has more personality than the last guy but I doubt he'd be OK with the pay cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliewud Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 the canadian donald trump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down by the River Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 8 minutes ago, nuckin_futz said: Kevin O’Leary mulls Conservative leadership bid ********************************* Certainly has more personality than the last guy but I doubt he'd be OK with the pay cut. I would love it if qualifications for leadership did not include being entertaining. Enough with celebrities filling government roles. I want someone that is good at their job, not good at keeping people's attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edlerberry Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 he's literally the biggest douche in canada. what a loser. 16 minutes ago, Oliewud said: the canadian donald trump no. literally no, figuratively no. just no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fateless Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 The problem is that being Prime Minister entails a lot more than just being good with money. While he could arguably do a good job with the economy - he'd destroy every other aspect of what being Canadian means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Building Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 1 minute ago, Fateless said: The problem is that being Prime Minister entails a lot more than just being good with money. While he could arguably do a good job with the economy - he'd destroy every other aspect of what being Canadian means. Exactly why he belongs in the Conservative party in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobble Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 All he will do is demand 51% of our taxes. :sarcasm: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Cool story. I'm out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForsbergTheGreat Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 He's very successful at making businesses profitable, if he views Canada as a business then he could be very good at turning around our economy. The only problem is there's more to Canada than just how profitable we are. There needs to be a balance but in my opinion we've been too focussed on everything but the economy lately and it's hurting the people. Job losses, weak dollar, and very little gov't support behind it's own resources. You need to focus on feeding yourself before you can go out and worry about the village. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I'd be pretty successful in business too if I only invested in "sure things". Small business owners and entrepreneurs need leaders who are imaginative, and innovators. Not close minded. We need Elon Musk types. Not typical Canadian CEO's who are like robber baron's looking only at natural resources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugor Hill Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 5 minutes ago, ForsbergTheGreat said: He's very successful at making businesses profitable, if he views Canada as a business then he could be very good at turning around our economy. The only problem is there's more to Canada than just how profitable we are. There needs to be a balance but in my opinion we've been too focussed on everything but the economy lately and it's hurting the people. Job losses, weak dollar, and very little gov't support behind it's own resources. You need to focus on feeding yourself before you can go out and worry about the village. Make sense in general, but what else has Harper been focusing during the last years of his prime ministership that actually might've pleased Canadians besides the economy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Sestito Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 26 minutes ago, Green Building said: Exactly why he belongs in the Conservative party in the first place. ah yes, generalizations! he's agnostic, while trudeau is a faith-based man. does that mean trudeau is more of a conservative? i think you'd have to wait and see what his policies are & platform is before judging that harshly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Arrogant Worms Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Kevin O'Leary: He's not a billionaire, he just plays one on TV http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/the-kevin-oleary-show-funds-dampen-the-reviews/article4564334/ “Just because you’re on television doesn’t mean you’ll be good at managing money,” says McQueen, the CEO of Wellington Financial LP. “When a non-trained money manager shows up in the market…if it goes badly, what does this mean to everybody else whose stock-in-trade is this industry? If it brings the industry into disrepute, you bring a pox on all of our houses from investors.” Of course, O’Leary doesn’t literally manage the funds himself—he’s too busy, and he’s not licensed. Yet when O’Leary promotes himself—which he does endlessly—he’s also, like Trump and Branson, marketing his businesses. As the man promotes himself from multiple platforms, O’Leary’s audience may not discern the distinction between O’Leary and O’Leary Funds. Nor do they likely know about the inconvenient details that complicate the founding myth of the guy who sold his software start-up for billions." TV's Shark Tank Guru: In Real Life, No Business Whiz http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1921635,00.html#ixzz0ddchkyuA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerridwen Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Quote Kevin O’Leary mulls Conservative leadership bid Good gawd, please no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tortorella Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 1 hour ago, Down by the River said: I would love it if qualifications for leadership did not include being entertaining. Enough with celebrities filling government roles. I want someone that is good at their job, not good at keeping people's attention. Fkn lawl. As if a single politician since Chretien has done anything positive for canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilduce39 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 From what I've read he's nothing like Trump. I've never watched Dragons Den but he actualy comes across with half a brain in that interview and articles I've read. As conservatives go at least he has a personality and I like the peacekeeping / multicultural vibe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I very much dislike O'Leary and his lust for money. I would probably have to get creative with my voting next term unless he somehow convinced me otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Goblin Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 O'Leary > Trump Not a fan of the Conservatives, but O'Leary is good in my books. I probably won't be voting for him but I respect his approach in business. M.O.E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electro Rock Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 After like 45 years of economic underperformance and decline, perhaps its time we have someone focused on making Canada competitive again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanNuck Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Donald Trump in Canada... well the only thing I would support of his is paying $1 million for Notely's resignation. PM? Hmmph, I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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