You’ve said you’re not mean on the show: You just tell the truth. Have you ever felt bad afterward about something you’ve said to an entrepreneur? Never. Business is so binary: Either you make money or you lose it. It’s so disingenuous to say to an entrepreneur, “I won’t write you a check, but you should keep going.” I would rather say — and I do — “This has no merit; you’re going to lose all your money.” I’m the only shark that tells the truth. The others make themselves feel better by lying to these poor people who are going to lose all their money. You deserve to burn in hell for that.

Your co-sharks deserve to burn in hell? For that? They should.

Last year you were the favorite in the race to become leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, but you dropped out because you felt you couldn’t speak French well enough to win Quebec in a general election. Have you been practicing since then? I have been. I felt that I could bring something to the Canadian market as the prime minister, because Canada’s incredibly mismanaged at a provincial and federal level. Would I do it again? Probably not the same way. Am I glad I did it? Yes.

If you did run again, what would you do differently? I’d be completely bilingual.

What’s the most Canadian thing about you? I’m born from Lebanese and Irish parents. The greatest thing about Canada is that it has allowed anybody to come from anywhere and be accepted in that society. That’s the biggest difference in policy when people say I am like Trump. How can I be Trump? I’m half Lebanese, half Irish. I wouldn’t exist if there were a wall around Canada!

I’ve heard you say one of the books that most influenced your success was “Atlas Shrugged.” How did that help you? I realized that in capitalism, either you believe in the intrinsic concept about the pursuit of wealth and why it’s good for you, or you don’t. I never question it. I never even think for a second that it was not the right path. To me there is darkness and light. Capitalism is the light. Socialism is the darkness. Nothing could ever change my mind about that.