He May Have Worked in Reality TV, But Some Of O’Leary’s Views Differ from Trump’s
When Kevin O’Leary announced that he was running for leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada, many Canadians immediately made comparisons to Donald Trump. Both are wealthy businessmen who are also reality TV stars, and both appear to have little compassion for others.
But when it comes to discussing immigration in Canada and international involvement, is O’Leary truly Trump’s northern cousin?
O’Leary and Immigration in Canada
O’Leary breaks from the Trump comparisons in his views on immigration and international aid, it would appear. In interviews following the announcement of his candidacy, O’Leary pointed out his cultural background as the son of immigrants from Lebanon and Ireland.
“There are no walls in my world,” noted O’Leary. One hopes that he doesn’t intend to close off immigration or add further controls.
O’Leary did not, however, provide a clear position on immigration in Canada. He has stated he plans to use the “best ideas” of his fellow candidates, some of whom have suggested a new immigrant screening process for “anti-Canadian values.”
If this suggested screening process is one of the “best ideas” that O’Leary is referring to, then there should be concern about future Canadian immigration laws. The term “anti-Canadian values” is reminiscent of Trump’s fear-mongering tactics against immigration during his election campaign.
O’Leary’s Stance on NATO
While Trump has loudly proclaimed that NATO is “obsolete,” O’Leary says that Canada needs to provide more funding to NATO. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an international political and military alliance with 28 member countries from North America and Europe.
Members of NATO make collective decisions to provide defense and security for member countries, and an attack against one member country is considered an attack against all. Since Trump spoke out against NATO, member countries are now concerned about the United States’ support in the event of an attack or conflict.
Although similar in many ways, O’Leary appears to be a slightly more progressive and moderate candidate than Trump. Given O’Leary’s stance on NATO and immigration in Canada, he currently does not seem to have the intention of making sweeping changes to our global standing. However, a lot can change on the campaign trail.
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Arghavan Gerami
Arghavan Gerami is the Founder and Senior Counsel at Gerami Law Professional Corporation ('PC'), a full-service immigration law firm in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 2011, Ms. Gerami has focused her practice on immigration and refugee litigation. Prior to that, Ms. Gerami worked at the Ministry of Attorney General and the Department of Justice and had the privilege of serving the Honourable Mr. Justice M. Evans at the Federal Court of Appeal on immigration and administrative law appeals. Ms. Gerami contributes to the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Ms. Gerami has also published numerous journal articles and presented at various immigration and refugee law conferences and events across Canada.