Kevin O’Leary quits Tory leadership race, supports Bernier
Posted April 26, 2017 10:49 am.
Last Updated April 26, 2017 11:15 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, ON. (NEWS 1130) – Celebrity investor and reality TV star Kevin O’Leary is quitting the federal Conservative leadership race and throwing his support behind Quebec rival Maxime Bernier.
Part of his official statement reads: “So here is what I’m going to do; I’m withdrawing my candidacy from the leadership race and throwing my full support behind Max. I’m going to do everything I can to ensure he gets elected, and I’m going to ask my supporters to do the same. Together we will drive Justin Trudeau out of power in 2019, and we will get Canada’s economy growing at three per cent.”
O’Leary was widely seen as the front-runner in the race, but he doesn’t believe he will be able to win a federal election because of a lack of support in Quebec. His lack of ability to speak French fluently was always considered one of O’Leary’s greatest liabilities.
The former Dragons’ Den star now appears on the American show Shark’s Tank.
The Boston-based pitchman has roughly 35,000 members who’ve signed on to support him, largely based on his personal appeal and his promise to kill the national carbon tax, get rid of red tape and “unbridle” Canada’s natural resources.
