Bob Mackin
Conservative leadership candidate Kevin O’Leary is coming to Vancouver for a fundraiser on Feb. 9, and guess who is hosting it?
None other than Vancouver Canucks’ owner Francesco Aquilini, a major donor to the BC Liberal Party who describes Shark Tank and Dragons’ Den TV star O’Leary as a “good friend.”
O’Leary, who is of Lebanese-Irish descent, calls Boston home and has made no secret of his love of the Bruins.
The man who called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “surfer dude” and Mayor Gregor Robertson a “bozo” was in Vancouver at Aquilini-owned Rogers Arena the night the Bruins beat the Aquilini-owned Canucks in game seven of the 2011 Stanley Cup final. A riot ensued. See O’Leary’s Tweets below.
For a $1,550 donation, you can rub shoulders with both “Trump Lite” O’Leary and Aquilini at the posh Terminal City Club on Feb. 9. The event is organized by Erinn Broshko, who was the Conservative candidate in Vancouver-Granville in 2015. Jody Wilson-Raybould won the new seat for the Liberals and became Justice Minister.
UPDATE (Feb. 11): Aquilini did not respond for comment until the day after the event. In a Feb. 10 email to theBreaker, he stated: “Kevin is a personal friend that I have known for many years. I wanted to help him in his bid to be leader.”
