He doesn’t speak French. And when he tried, Kevin O’Leary united much of French Canada in the hope he wouldn’t try again.
There are many reasons why the reality TV star should have been disqualified from the race to lead Canada’s Conservative Party. He lives in Boston. He once violated CBC’s journalistic standards by calling his guest a “left-wing nutbar.” He refers to himself as “daddy.”
Even his credentials as a relentless capitalist seem questionable, as at least one prominent financial firm appraised his fund management performance as “often horrid.”
But as we’re all keenly aware, today’s political candidates are substituting bluster for substance with frightening success.
That’s why we let out a sigh of relief when O’Leary’s nothing-burger bid to lead the Tories limped to an end this week, as he endorsed rival Maxime Bernier shortly after one last fundraising blitz.
The race now includes 12 credible candidates, and Kellie Leitch.
Leitch’s plan to screen immigrants for Canadian values is as myopic as it is ridiculous. Immigrants already undergo a comprehensive screening process in which anyone who has been convicted of a crime, poses a security risk, or lies to get into Canada is rejected. A prospective immigrant who is simply related to someone who isn’t allowed in Canada is considered inadmissible.
Leitch is certainly well aware of that process. But despite insisting on her own tolerance and compassion, she’s trying to foment enough intolerance and xenophobia to carry her to Sussex Drive.
We truly hope her message has reached its best-before date.
After all, reality TV’s contribution to the race is over. Welcome back to reality.
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