Businessman and media personality Kevin O鈥橪eary has launched an 鈥渆xploratory committee鈥� to help gauge public support for a possible run at the leadership of Canada鈥檚 Conservative Party as he looks to 鈥渆xorcize鈥� the current Liberal government from Ottawa in 2019.
In a video posted to his Facebook page Friday, O鈥橪eary says the committee will help determine whether he is the right person to run for party leader. O鈥橪eary has said for months that he is considering running for the political job.
His exploratory committee is made up of high-profile Conservative activists and personalities, including former Ontario premier Mike Harris and former Sen. Marjory LeBreton.
O鈥橪eary is also directly asking Canadians whether he should officially run for the Tory leadership.
In an interview with CTV News Channel after his announcement, O鈥橪eary suggested it鈥檚 only a matter of time before he throws his hat in the ring, as he waits for the number of Conservative leadership hopefuls to shrink.
Fourteen hopefuls crowded the stage for the last leadership debate held in Moncton earlier this month. With that many candidates participating, O鈥橪eary said, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 not really a debate at all, it鈥檚 a series of 20-second soundbites.鈥�
He added: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have the name recognition problem, I don鈥檛 have a money problem, I have a too-many-candidates-in-the-race problem.
鈥淪o I鈥檓 going to let the natural Darwinian forces of finance cull the herd a bit.鈥�
But O鈥橪eary said he 鈥渃ertainly鈥� wants to participate in the 鈥渄ebate this country so desperately needs about its future.鈥�
鈥淲e are deeply broken,鈥� in this country, O鈥橪eary said, pointing to new data released Friday morning that shows Canada鈥檚 GDP shrank in October. The businessman laid the blame squarely on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who he said has 鈥済one in the wrong direction.鈥�
Wielding a spatula that also made an appearance in his Facebook announcement, O鈥橪eary said on News Channel that he鈥檒l symbolically use the kitchen tool 鈥渢o scrape all the stupid policies out of Ottawa.鈥�
The Conservative Party, however, is 鈥渘ot broken at all,鈥� O鈥橪eary said, but added that the party 鈥渓ost its way鈥� in the 2015 federal election by not focusing on Canada鈥檚 millennials. Trudeau promised jobs for 18 to 35 year olds, O鈥橪eary said, but has not delivered.
鈥淚t鈥檚 now clear they鈥檙e still living in the basement, so all of those selfies and the work he wants to do with the United Nations and all the money he鈥檚 giving away to other countries, clearly he doesn鈥檛 care about those millennials anymore.鈥�
O鈥橪eary called millennials his 鈥渁rmy.鈥�
鈥淭hose are the young Canadian entrepreneurs and I speak their language. I speak the language of jobs. That鈥檚 the third language in Canada, Trudeau will never learn that in the next 36 months. I may get better in French but he鈥檒l never get better at jobs.鈥�
Canada鈥檚 Donald Trump?
As a billionaire businessman who gained widespread recognition as a TV personality, O鈥橪eary has drawn some obvious comparisons to controversial U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
O鈥橪eary says the comparison is 鈥渘ot an insult at all,鈥� but the 鈥渢ruth鈥� is that he鈥檚 nothing like Trump.
鈥淭hink about this: I鈥檓 half-Lebanese, half-Irish 鈥� If we were building walls, I wouldn鈥檛 even be here,鈥� O鈥橪eary said, referring to Trump鈥檚 election promise to build a wall to keep illegal immigrants out of the U.S.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not the world I live in, I view Canada in a completely different way.鈥�
O鈥橪eary says he doesn鈥檛 understand why Canada can鈥檛 be 鈥渋ncredibly competitive.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 so many things broken in our policy when I think of how our engine of growth in energy was completely destroyed out in Alberta. That used to be the shining example of capitalism in North America.鈥�
