dbd33

How so? What has he done to break Canada?

BristolUK

Someone whose expertise is making money is not likely to be so good when it comes to something service based.

We saw enough of it in the UK when Thatcher did the same appointing various hatchetmen.

That's not to say there is no government waste in Canada. I've seen enough of it locally and nationally to make me wonder if there's more. But in my experience it's actually the staff, the people doing the job, that are best placed to see it.

Oakvillian

Two things:
First, I don't think he actually is that smart when it comes to business. He got lucky with the timing of the launch of SoftKey, got lucky again with the acquisition by Mattel, and has settled a number of lawsuits (by shareholders and former colleagues) under somewhat shady circumstances. More than a whiff of Trump about his business record (except of course, as befits a Canadian version, they're all rather smaller-scale deals).

Second, of course, even if he were genuinely a superlative businessman, that is absolutely no guarantee that he'll make a sensible political leader. He aspires to be prime minister - that is a position that requires tact and diplomacy, the ability to conduct multi-faceted negotiations that might (although, again, less so in Canada's case than in the US) affect more than just the local audience and in more than just the immediate term. Many things O'Leary may be, but diplomat he is not.

As to his spat with the Ontario premier, it's bizarre on both sides. Why Wynne has even engaged in discussion beats me: he's one of fourteen candidates running to be leader of a Federal opposition party, he's not even an MP yet, he has no constituency, no authority. And even if he were to win the leadership, he'd still be a Federal party leader whose job is absolutely not to stick his nose into Provincial politics. If I were Patrick Brown I'd be livid at O'Leary for overstepping my righteous-indignation battle lines... but that assumes, I suppose, that Patrick Brown is anything more than the parochial non-entity that he always appears. Has the Ontario PC party actually got a position on what O'Leary has criticised Wynne for? Have they got a spokesperson who can articulate that position? Until they do, then sadly there's not really any sensible alternative to the increasingly inept provincial Liberals - Horwath's NDP would be a good option but they also appear increasingly rudderless having failed to capitalise on the collapse of Tim Hudak's campaign in the last election.

Paul_Shepherd

Its the levels of spending that worries me most. A lot more than he admitted to in his campaign.

not2old

This Kevin O'Leary running for the Conservative leadership means zip, as does his run in with Premier Wynne, the media or anyone else listening to or reading the media

From a wiki it says his net worth is $400 million

He has never held a position in political office, nor has he been employed in the public service sector, which makes his politiician skills zero.

His luck in business means zip also, his mouth even less

I'm on this that he will likely get the nod to be the leader of the Federal PC, for the reason that he has money, an attitude, friends in the right places & that the PC's are saying 'who else is there & what do we have to lose going with O'Leary till we find someone else.

When he gets the PC leadership he will sit opposite the Liberal PM to whinge & whine like all opposition leaders do, collecting a fat paycheque, expenses, houses in two cities which are paid for by the taxpayer.

Does he need the job or the paycheque, my answer is 'no' on both counts.

Does O'Leary believe that he will be Prime Minister of Canada - well, of course he does.

Will O'Leary ever be the next PM of Canada... that is the $400 million dollar question

bats

Well if he wins then they have to find him a safe seat and hope he's elected to that seat.
It's not like in the USA thank goodness

SchnookoLoly

As always, I appreciate your points. Completely agree he's not a diplomat at all, he's rude and brash and to-the-point without any tact.

And yeah, while I agree with the CONTENT of his letter to Wynne, it does make total sense that he was wrong to do it so publicly, especially when him running for the federal leadership has nothing to do with the provincial level of things. I do wonder if Brown is seething at the sidelines.

It's all a gong show, really... :s

not2old

For no other reason than O'Leary has the money, gets his friends in high places to support him, donations not an issue (or is the money). He can go media madeness. I say that he gets the nod, as well as 'who else is there' that will go up against O'Leary as a serious contender?

So go with O'Leary until someone else can replace him.

As the opposition leader he may stir it up enough to get Trudeau to start sweating enough, red faced swearing in French

Remember Trudeau marching across the floor in parliament grabbing that other politician. Should O'Leary get to be the conservative leader, I can see Trudeau doing it again and again.

Trudeau net pay as the PM all in is around $300k, all other MP's including those running for the conservative leadership title likely get close to $200k all in with their top-up's.

O'Leary like Trump isn't too concerned about the money - both are ego driven

24 hours ago, source CP 24 News

"A new poll released less than a week after Kevin O’Leary officially entered the Conservative leadership race puts the celebrity businessmen well ahead of his rival candidates.

The Forum Research poll, which randomly sampled 1,332 Canadian voters, found that 27 per cent of respondents named O’Leary as the preferred candidate to lead the Conservative Party.

Maxime Bernier was identified by 11 per cent of respondents as the preferred leader followed by Lisa Raitt, who received seven per cent support."

Ebonhawke

I wouldn't put any stock into that poll as a clear predictor of the outcome of the race. With 14 candidates still in the race, most of whom are relative unknowns to the average Canadian, it's not surprising that the three leading candidates are those with the biggest 'name' recognition from watching the media.

A number of conservative concerns about Trudeau has been the fact that he had relatively little political experience prior to becoming Prime Minister, spends a lot of time outside the country liaising with foreign officials rather than staying in Canada 'working for Canadians', over-using his celebrity and social media presence, and liberal stances on such issues as LGBTQ rights, and legalization of marijuana.

So.. the Conservative Party's response is going to be to elect someone with absolutely no political experience, lives in Boston, is a reality TV celebrity, and has stated the exact same policy positions as Trudeau on LGBTQ rights, abortion, feminism, and legalized marijuana to be their leader... Oh, and he doesn't speak French, which won't help them win votes in Quebec.

not2old

total number of seats in Quebec is 78, the conservatives have 12*

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...oral_districts

Is Quebec a big deal for the conservatives?

Should O'Leary ever become PM, maybe, just maybe this would be the time for separation?

Tangram

When did politics turn into Pop Idol ?

Ebonhawke

In order to unseat the Liberals as the governing party, the Conservatives will have to usurp a large number of seats currently held by Liberals. While some may be found in Atlantic Canada (as a result of continuing issues with unemployment), there's not much potential for picking up additional seats in Western Canada, which leaves Ontario and Quebec.

While Wynne in Ontario is extremely unpopular, the provincial election in Ontario will occur well before the next federal election. Assuming that the Liberals are turfed out in Ontario, that may well satisfy the anti-Liberal sentiment, especially since the hostility tends to be geared towards Wynne's policies, rather than Trudeau's. Which leaves Quebec...

not2old

I don't know about that. I'm thinking more Conservative seats in Western Canada with O'Leary, reversing the damage of Harper .

The Conservatives with O'Leary as their leader are best to be in opposition in a minority Liberal government,

With O'Leary in place, will the NDP or the Bloc revive themselves to make a difference?