Kevin O'Leary is supporting Donald Trump's proposal to merge Canada with the United States. The Shark Tank star's interest in helping broker such a deal comes after the president-elect said Canada should be “our 51st state.” In an interview with Fox Business on Thursday, the 70-year-old said that at least half of his countrymen back the idea and “want to hear more” about it.
Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary supports Donald Trump's proposal to make Canada ‘51st’ US state
“Canadians over the holidays – the last two days – have been talking about this,” O'Leary said of Trump's proposal. “They want to hear more,” he added. The Canadian businessman's statement comes on the heels of the future commander-in-chief calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.”
ALSO READ: Vivek Ramaswamy steps in as Sriram Krishnan's controversial views on immigration spark debate
During his Thursday interview, O'Leary admitted that “there’s obviously a lot of issues” that would arise if Canada accepted Trump's offer to merge with the US. However, he said that the president-elect's interest in the matter “could be the beginning of an economic union.”
The Montreal-born businessman went on to say, “Think about the power of combining the two economies, erasing the border between Canada and the United States and putting all that resource up to the northern borders where China and Russia are knocking on the door.”
{{/usCountry}}The Montreal-born businessman went on to say, “Think about the power of combining the two economies, erasing the border between Canada and the United States and putting all that resource up to the northern borders where China and Russia are knocking on the door.”
{{/usCountry}}“So secure [the northern territories], give a common currency, figure out taxes across the board, get everything trading both ways, create a new, almost EU-like passport – I like this idea,” he continued, adding that “at least half of Canadians are interested.”
O'Leary also shared that the major issue in Canada at the moment is the “collapsing” government under Liberal Party PM Trudeau. “Nobody wants Trudeau to negotiate this deal. I don’t want him doing it for me. So I’m going to go to Mar-A-Lago. I’ll start the narrative,” the investor argued, adding, “The 41 million Canadians, I think most of them would trust me on this deal.”