Celebrity investor Kevin O鈥橪eary says he鈥檚 considering running for the leadership of the federal Conservative Party.
In an interview from Florida on Thursday, O鈥橪eary acknowledged that it鈥檚 too early to make a decision 18 months ahead of the anticipated Tory convention, but said he鈥檚 interested in testing the waters.
鈥淚t鈥檚 18 months from now and that鈥檚 an eternity in politics,鈥� 鈥淢ost people that are looking at this are floating trial balloons. I鈥檓 just one of them.鈥�
O鈥橪eary, the chair of O'Leary Financial Group and a Bell Media on-air contributor, said he鈥檚 concerned about Canada鈥檚 economic outlook and doesn鈥檛 believe the new Liberal government is doing enough to create jobs and boost growth.
He said the travels and commitments Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made during his first two months in office didn鈥檛 create 鈥渙ne incremental Canadian job.鈥�
鈥淚 consider that a fail,鈥� he said.
O鈥橪eary blamed the decline of the loonie not just on falling oil prices, but also on what he calls a 鈥渓ess and less investment-friendly鈥� Canada.
He said he would be a good candidate to run the country 鈥渂ecause all I care about is the economy.鈥�
In an earlier interview with BNN, O鈥橪eary said that 鈥淐anada is broken.鈥�
鈥淪omeone has to fix it,鈥� he said.
O鈥橪eary said another motivation for his potential foray into politics is his experience teaching business students in Canada. O鈥橪eary said all of his students are interested in his American business contacts because they see better opportunities across the border.
鈥淭his is our future leaving Canada,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hy can鈥檛 we be competitive? Why can鈥檛 we keep our leaders?鈥�
News of O鈥橪eary鈥檚 political future come days after he took aim at Alberta鈥檚 NDP government, accusing Premier Rachel Notley of 鈥渇inancial malfeasance鈥� as the energy sector continues to shed jobs amid plummeting oil prices, and raising eyebrows with an offer to invest $1 million in Canadian energy companies if she resigns.
鈥淪he has got to go,鈥� O鈥橪eary told a radio station on Monday.
Notley responded by telling O鈥橪eary to 鈥渂ring it on.鈥�
鈥淲ell, you know the last time a group of wealthy businessmen tried to tell Alberta voters how to vote I ended up becoming premier," she said at a news conference.
Asked how he feels about people comparing him to controversial U.S. Republican presidential nomination candidate and business mogul Donald Trump, O鈥橪eary said there are some parallels.
鈥淭here鈥檚 some truth to it regarding the media, obviously. You need the media at least to get your message out, but that鈥檚 where the similarities end.鈥�
Unlike Trump, who provoked outrage by saying that Muslims should be banned from entering the U.S., O鈥橪eary said he鈥檚 a 鈥減roud, inclusive Canadian鈥� who believes that the country should 鈥渆mbrace every culture and every religion.鈥�
After the Conservatives were voted out of power last October, Stephen Harper stepped down as leader of the party. Alberta MP Rona Ambrose was elected the party鈥檚 interim leader in November.
