Justin a 'disaster' as PM: O'Leary
Joe Warmington
Kevin O'Leary has been loudly vying to be Canada's prime minister.
But would the Shark Tank and Dragon's Den star serve as a Member of Parliament and potentially a member of cabinet if he cannot win his party's leadership?
The outspoken businessman and TV star has not officially said what he would do if he is not successful in his bid to lead the Conservative Party. But he's now offered a hint that he just may want to be part of the Tory team.
"The leadership race is a tight one and we don't now who is going to win," he told the Sun in an interview this week. "But whatever happens I am going to be part of making sure I use everything I have brought to the table, including selling thousands of memberships, and take that movement to Ottawa and help Justin find out his true calling is not running Canada."
It seems O'Leary is getting more comfortable being a politician. Appearing relaxed he shook the hands of people who recognized him.
Mr. Wonderful has star power. Mostly though, he feels he's making a dent.
"I sold 35,000 memberships. I don't think anybody has sold more memberships," he says proudly.
It may not be enough to win on a first ballot but it puts him in position to persuade the party faithful he's the best option to defeat Trudeau.
Aiming at Trudeau is his approach. He feels the strategy of previous campaigns suggesting Trudeau was not ready to be leader of Canada is no longer a hypothesis but a reality.
"People are very concerned about the economy in Canada and what it's going to take to get Canada growing again," he said. "All the problems we are starting to see — breakdowns in health care, education, military spending, social net — are the result of the fact the economy hasn't grown."
O'Leary admits "there was a lot of optimism about Trudeau government coming in."
That goodwill is gone.
"He is halfway into his mandate now and it's a fail on every measure so the country is looking for a new direction," said O'Leary.
Whether or not he comes out on top, O'Leary thinks a new prime minister is both needed and coming.
"I think that is what this leadership race is all about," said O'Leary. "What is it going to take to put Canada back in a competitive place so we can start building an economy that supports all the promises we make to Canadians?"
Trudeau, he says, has shown his lack of ability.
"We have become very uncompetitive as a country," said O'Leary. "Trudeau took us in the wrong direction on carbon tax, on personal tax, corporation tax," he said. "On regulations he's put moratoriums around all of your growth around natural resources."
And he's also packed on a lot of debt for future generations to pay.
Taxed out, choked out and worn it.
O'Leary thinks Canada is ready for a business approach. He doesn't think it's about TV stardom for Canadians but about competence.
"Justin has never run a business, never had to worry about an income statement or balance sheet. He is out there and he is a total disaster as a manager. Unfortunately when you have a disaster as a manager you have to make changes. That is what is going to happen in 2019."
jwarmington@postmedia.com
SUN: Is there enough Conservative support to defeat Prime Minister Trudeau's Liberals?
O'Leary: "The conservative movement is going to be a much bigger one in the next election because of the fact that most Canadians people are so concerned about their own children, their own jobs, the country and it's competitiveness. There is going to be a huge movement to sweep them out of power."
SUN: Should Prime Minister Trudeau have offered to renegotiate with President Trump on NAFTA?
O'Leary: "He should have remained silent and let Trump focus on the trade imbalance with Mexico and dealt with Canada later. The truth is opening up NAFTA is not good for Canada and for the United States. Now we have another difficult situation. We have an inexperienced manager in Trudeau who has never negotiated a complex deal like this. We are in a very weak place and I think that is going to be problematic. Canadians are very worried because, frankly, this is going to be the mother of all negotiations."
SUN: Is it right for government to subsidize free enterprise businesses?
O'Leary: "The worst thing you can ever hear when it comes to any market of any asset class is words from a Justin Trudeau: 'Hi I am from the government and I am here to help you.' You know this will end badly. it will be a disaster."
SUN: How about government stepping in to help cool the hot housing market?
O'Leary: "Anytime you meddle in any market there's very bad unintended consequences. He's going to learn the hard way. It will probably cost (Trudeau) the election if he collapses housing by 20 or 30 percent. (Finance Minister Bill) Morneau probably knows that too. They better tread very lightly on housing. The number one debt of Canadians, and the number one asset of Canadians, are their homes. If they mess with that, and make a mistake, the boot that will kick them out of government is so large it will probably scrape down a lot of houses down in Ottawa."