Kevin O’Leary Officially Enters the Conservative Leadership Race

It seems like just yesterday that the possibility was just a joke. And now it’s actually happening.

Sound familiar?

According to the CBC, celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary is entering the Conservative leadership race. This comes just a month after the Dragon said he wants to fight “surfer dude” Justin Trudeau in a federal election.

O’Leary’s camp strongly believes that bout is on the horizon. Last week, his campaign exploratory committee said there was a “clear path to victory” in replacing Stephen Harper as the leader of the Conservative party. There are currently 13 people in line to compete with, which O’Leary has deemed problematic.

“My problem is too many candidates in any of these debates in any language. You can’t have a debate, you can’t talk about Canada, you can’t bring your policies forward, you can’t show a different direction in 20-second sound bites. Please tell me when we’re down to four or five, then we’ll talk turkey,” he said earlier this month.

The big issue, of course, is whether he’ll talk French as well. O’Leary is not bilingual, which many see as an essential trait of the Prime Minister.

“If [O’Leary] believes he can win an election without speaking a word of French, he is wrong,” said Quebec MP Maxime Bernier. “And I think the members of the Conservative Party are conscious of this. They are conscious of the need for a leader who can speak in French to Quebecers.”

His platform is expected to be focused primarily on the economy, which he has attacked Trudeau for repeatedly.

“He is a fine surfer dude. And this is an excellent adventure for him, but he is killing our country,” O’Leary said about the current PM when he hinted at his candidacy last December.

The Conservatives’ leader will be chosen at a convention in Toronto in May. The next federal election will take place in October 2019.

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