Raitt blasts key rivals in Tory race

O’Leary ‘a TV entertainer with no filter’

• Gambling that Canadian Conservatives will reject Donald Trump- style politics, Tory leadership candidate Lisa Raitt launched an assault Wednesday on two prominent rivals she fears could destroy the party if elected.

Canadians will return the Conservatives to power in Ottawa if the party selects a principled leader who offers sensible policies, Raitt told a news conference in the national capital.

On the other hand, confirmed leadership candidate Kellie Leitch and possible contender Kevin O’Leary promise divisive and negative political agendas that would only serve to divide Conservatives and scare away potential converts, she warned.

“If principled and pragmatic Conservatives don’t join together, we will see our party hijacked by the loudest (voices) in the room, who are really just aiming to boost their own profile,” Raitt said.

Calling O’Leary “a TV entertainer with no filter,” Raitt launched a website, StopKevinOLeary.com, to highlight her concerns about both O’Leary and Leitch, who she derided for embracing U. S. president- elect Donald Trump’s anti- immigrant message.

O’Leary — a brash businessman known for his past role on CBC’s Dragons’ Den and current turn on the U. S. version, Shark Tank — hasn’t yet officially entered the race but has launched a committee to explore the possibility.

Leitch appeared Tuesday on the Fox Business Network, where she echoed the controversial U. S. presidentelect by reiterating a promise to screen newcomers to Canada for “Canadian values.”

Leitch also described how she believes Canadian workers are being left behind by “elites” and Canada’s “leftwing media,” both of which want more open borders simply to “feather their own caps.” And she agreed with After the Bell host David Asman’s critique of Canada’s “socialized” medicare system as a less- than- ideal method of delivering care.

Raitt’s announcement Wednesday appeared to prompt another of her rivals, presumed front-runner Maxime Bernier, to take a different approach to O’Leary’s possible candidacy.

“Unlike other leadership contestants, I welcome more competition, and I am not scared of ( Kevin O’Leary),” Bernier said on Twitter.

Quebec candidate Steven Blaney agreed. “We welcome candidates from all scopes of the Canadian sphere,” Blaney told a news conference in Montreal.

There are currently 13 candidates in the running to lead the party that former prime minister Stephen Harper steered t hrough nearly a decade in power. Winnipeg doctor Daniel Lindsay bowed out of the race last week.