O’Leary building glass mansion

An editorial from the Winnipeg Free Press, published March 2:

It may be difficult for the federal Conservatives to throw stones at the Liberals if Kevin O’Leary becomes leader. It would appear the television personality and businessman has been tapped as the David to the Liberals’ Goliath – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

No doubt, Trudeau has engaged in questionable ethical practices. His Christmas visit with the Agha Khan for one thing – after all, he and his family along with his Liberal friends were wined and dined in the Bahamas.

Oh, that was great fodder for the Conservatives, until it was revealed that interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose had also spent the Christmas break on a billionaire’s yacht. Suddenly, there was no shade to throw. Talk about glass houses. Sure, Trudeau is vulnerable. His party’s use of cash-foraccess fundraisers made for terrible optics, particularly after Trudeau first denied there was anything wrong with these $1,500-per-ticket fundraisers or that they provided special access to politicians. Then he claimed he used the events to get support for policies on behalf of the middle class. He has now pledged legislation to ban them.

Imagine O’Leary as Conservative leader. How could he attack the Liberals or Trudeau on this topic, when O’Leary himself demands a minimum $50,000 an appearance and won’t show up for anything less? Or that O’Leary acknowledged in the Globe and Mail that he is backing an AlbertaBritish Columbia pipeline after one of its supporters helped raise $100,000 for the O’Leary campaign? That’s truly bought-and-paid-for access. Imagine the Conservatives trying to take a shot at Trudeau’s privileged upbringing and his life as an elite, with O’Leary’s penchant for private jets, his US$30,000-an-episode salary for Shark Tank and his millionaire lifestyle?

Or how about the Conservatives trying to tackle Trudeau’s lack of experience, when O’Leary has never run for public office?

In fact, O’Leary has many targets on his back that Liberal strategists are likely salivating over. O’Leary has publicly stated he considers Boston his home. After a Conservative campaign denouncing former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff as “just visiting” in 2011 the attack ads write themselves.

His business dealings haven’t been entirely successful. His company, O’Leary Funds, performed poorly and was sold in 2015 after losing close to $800 million in assets. He was fired by Mattel and later named as a defendant in a class-action lawsuit by Mattel shareholders accusing him – in part – of insider trading. He denied those claims and Mattel settled with shareholders in 2003.

A great deal of time has been spent comparing O’Leary to U.S. President Donald Trump. But the first month of the Trump presidency may make O’Leary appear an even tougher sell for those within the Conservative party looking for a champion.

Trump’s declaration that “nobody knew health care could be so complicated” is just one more cringe-worthy quote from someone who had no understanding of the difference between business and government.

Canadian politicians should always be careful about building glass houses. With O’Leary, it’s more like a glass mansion.