Inspired by Donald Trump, Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary might be positioning himself to run for prime minister of Canada, a position equivalent to the U.S. president.
Although he has lived in Boston for about 20 years, reality TV personality O'Leary is considering seeking to become leader of Canada's Conservative Party (a.k.a. the Tories), which would then presumably propel him to run for the country's top spot in the next national election.
Although it is not mandatory, Canada's prime minister traditionally is an elected member of in the country's parliament, the House of Commons. Whether O'Leary -- assuming he actually runs for the Tory leadership which is far from clear and may be just a publicity stunt -- would break that mold is pure speculation at this point.
The Shark Tank cast member and mutual fund chairman has an estimated net worth of $300 million.
The Tory leadership election won't occur until Mary 27, 2017, so it remains to be seen if conservatives in Canada will decide if the millionaire businessman and brash TV personality is actually Mr. Wonderful in the political sense.
A new poll of conservatives from Mainstreet Research, however reveals that O'Leary is virtually tied for the top spot with a well-known career politician.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper led the Conservative Party while it was in power from 2006 to 2015. Harper resigned as leader (but still retained his seat in parliament) after his party's defeat in the October 2015 Canadian election that resulted in the Liberals, led by legacy candidate Justin Trudeau, forming the current government.
In what is a familiar theme to Americans during election 2016, O'Leary has declared that Trudeau's high-tax, big-spending policies are doomed to failure and that the country needs a business professional at the helm to create and maintain jobs.
Journalists have, among other things, slammed O'Leary (see clip below) for his inability to speak French, which apparently is a prerequisite for a political career in Canada. Of Irish and Lebanese heritage, O'Leary was born in Montreal, and conceded that he might take French lessons even though learning the language at this point might be in his view a form of political pandering.
Although the Shark Tank panelist has described himself as "politically agnostic," interim Conservative Party leader Rona Ambrose said that, "Kevin O'Leary is someone who believes in smaller government, lower taxes, he calls himself a Conservative and he's welcome to run in the race."
