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He says his platform will focus on economic growth, which he believes must be at three per cent to sustain Canada’s “social contract” and the services governments provide. (The growth rate is currently at 0.9 per cent of GDP.)

On Monday his criticisms focused on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and the PM’s principal secretary, Gerald Butts, calling their policies “clueless,” “broken” and “a disaster.”

“I will promise the Canadian people I will shine the light of transparency on them,” O’Leary said, adding he thinks the Liberals are making Canada unattractive in global markets and their carbon tax, “defective in every way,” would be better replaced with a policy of negotiating deals with the private sector to meet emissions-reduction targets.

The “army” of new party members from whom he expects to gain support, he said, are 18-35 year olds struggling to find jobs and start businesses. “Trudeau has screwed them. I think I can crisscross the country over the next 36 months and bring them all home to the Conservative Party. That’s my promise to the party.” The next federal election in 2019 will be an “exorcism,” he said.

As for the delay in making his entry official, he said he wants to wait until “Darwinian forces” cull the herd of 14 candidates before entering. Because many of those candidates say they have already paid the $100,000 in registration fees and compliance deposits required before a Dec. 31 deadline, however, the stage will probably still be crowded on Jan. 17 at the next leadership debate in Quebec City, which will be held in French.

To those who see bilingualism as a prerequisite for the job, he says he “speaks jobs” — and that the French he spoke as a seven-year-old living outside Montreal will return as he continues to practice. “I’ll get my chops back.”

Email:mdsmith@postmedia.com| Twitter:mariedanielles