Ex-Dragon Dickinson not ruling out a future in politics

Arlene Dickinson says that she thinks her former Dragon’s Den co-star Kevin O’Leary lacks the necessary empathy for a life in politics, but admits she’s not the right candidate, either. Yet. The Calgary-based investment mogul, who was in Ottawa as the keynote speaker for a student leadership conference at Carleton University, said Saturday that putting her name on a ballot isn’t in the cards right now, but it’s not out of the question in the future.

“Never say never,” she said. “It is not in my foreseeable future.”

The 60-year-old venture capitalist, who released a Facebook statement Friday on her lack of immediate political ambitions, said she’s non-partisan and only supports great policy.

Dickinson has been outspoken about O’Leary’s recent debut as a Conservative party leadership candidate. The two were co-stars for almost a decade, until O’Leary and Dickinson quit Dragon’s Den in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Dickinson worries that profitdriven businesspeople like new U.S. President Donald Trump and O’Leary will endanger the people who need help most. And while she thinks businesspeople in government is a “good thing,” she thinks O’Leary isn’t the right man for the job.

“I think Kevin is opportunistic and has this notion that greed is good. It’s not just that he was that person (on TV), this is who I believe him to be,” she said. “These characteristics, as a future leader of our country, don’t bode well for Canadians.”