Tory leadership candidates condemn O’Leary for comments on military

O’Toole took to Twitter to call on O’Leary to apologize for the comment, saying Conservatives are proud of Canadians who served as peacekeepers and those who fought.

Chong issued a statement calling O’Leary’s comment an “egregious attack” on Canada’s institutions and legacy.

He accused O’Leary of dismissing everything Canada has done during wartime as “ill-conceived and ignoble.”

“For Kevin O’Leary to dismiss the contribution of Canada’s more than 100,000 war dead in search of a soundbite is not worthy of any Canadian citizen, let alone one who wants to lead the Conservative Party of Canada,” Chong’s statement said.

“As Conservatives, we must do better than that.”

One of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s senior aides also weighed in. Gerald Butts tweeted that the comments attributed to O’Leary were “appallingly disrespectful.”

Entrepreneur Arlene Dickinson also took to Twitter to call out her former co-star on the television show Dragons’ Den. She tweeted that the comments were “disrespectful & off base.”

O’Leary has been mulling over entering the leadership race, which is already jammed packed with 14 candidates, but he has been publicly vague on when he’ll clarify his intentions.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Tory leadership candidates condemn O’Leary for comments on military

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