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Some would say, of course, that O’Leary’s religion is money; that he appeals to the worst aspect of human nature, greed, and that this in itself disqualifies him from participating in Canadian political life. He would likely chuckle at such a characterization, then reiterate a version of his long-standing mantra: Money is stored human energy, and the best objective measure of true value. How can anyone be against it? It’s the kind of thinking that enrages left-leaning viewers of O’Leary’s shows, which include the current Shark Tank on ABC, but delights ideological conservatives. Presumably, not all his 466,000 Twitter followers believe he’s a monster.

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Indeed, if you listen on occasion to O’Leary’s turns on the radio, you may observe he speaks at times like a character out of a novel by the libertarian author Ayn Rand. He is, in his own way, an idealist. As such he could be expected to offer a trenchant counterpoint in a political pantheon now entirely dominated by centre-left orthodoxy, whether in Ontario, Alberta or federally.

To restate: If O’Leary is the pure economic libertarian he seems, and not a culture warrior, then he’s actually no Trump, regardless of what he, O’Leary, may claim. This would be critical to his political success in Canada. The Tories’ straying into identity politics last fall was an important factor in their loss, as they themselves know. The party needs a pulpit-pounder on economics, smart enough to skewer the government’s mistakes in memorable fashion across all media platforms, while sticking to his or her knitting.

Does O’Leary have a shot against party stalwarts such as former cabinet ministers Peter MacKay, Tony Clement, Kellie Leitch, Jason Kenney, Lisa Raitt or Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall? I would argue he has. He was born in Montreal, went to high school in Ottawa, and has an MBA from the University of Western Ontario. He is reputedly bilingual. Even if his French is of the Anglo-Montrealer variety, it would give him a leg up on aspirants such as Wall, who is unilingual.

In short: Should he run, The Dragon will make a formidable candidate. Liberals who dismiss him risk getting burned.