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Shark Tank Investor Kevin O'Leary to Run for Conservative Leader in Canada

Investor Kevin O'Leary of ABC's Shark Tank announced Wednesday his intention to run for leader of Canada's opposition Conservative Party.

By Natalie Johnson·
Shark Tank Investor Kevin O'Leary to Run for Conservative Leader in Canada

Investor Kevin O'Leary of ABC's "Shark Tank" announced Wednesday his intention to run for leader of Canada's opposition Conservative Party.

O'Leary, 62, wrote on Twitter that Canada needed a candidate who could defeat Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "and bring back jobs."

The celebrity businessman, who has drawn parallels to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, has labeled Trudeau a "complete incompetent" whose liberal economic policies are "destroying" Canada.

O'Leary joins a field of 13 other Conservative Party candidates hoping to mount an opposition against Trudeau in 2019. Leadership elections will be held in just four months on May 27.

"The potential of this country is absolutely immense, it's just really mismanaged," O'Leary told Canada's CBC News.

The final deadline for candidates to enter the race is Feb. 24.