Conservative leadership contender says party could be 'hijacked' by political theatrics

Conservative leadership candidate Lisa Raitt waged a frontal assault against potential rival Kevin O'Leary today, accusing him of using Donald Trump-style tactics and theatrics that would kill any chance of the party's return to power.

Raitt, a former cabinet minister under Stephen Harper, held a news conference to officially launch her new website www.StopKevinOLeary.com, a pre-emptive strike against the businessman and reality show celebrity who has not yet officially entered the race.

She also took aim at fellow contender Kellie Leitch for ripping from the president-elect's playbook and pinning the country's problems on immigrants.

"Kevin O'Leary and Kellie Leitch are both taking lessons from what we just saw recently in the U.S. election, and they're embracing a style of negative, and I would say irresponsible, populism," she said.

Raitt is the latest in a string of candidates who have lashed out at O'Leary.

On Tuesday, Andrew Scheer called on him to "fish or cut bait," and make a decision on whether to run before the Jan. 17 French language debate in Quebec City. O'Leary, who does not speak French, has tasked an "exploratory" team and launched his own website to drum up public support.

Leitch issued a statement in response to Raitt's attack, saying her Conservative rival drew a line in the sand and showed she "stands with the Liberals and media elites."

"She does not think it is important to ensure that the people we welcome into our country share our historic Canadian values of hard work, generosity, freedom, and tolerance," she said."The choice is clear: I am the only candidate in this race who will screen newcomers to Canada for those Canadian values."

Long-time Conservative strategist Chad Rogers said O'Leary is under attack because candidates are trying to drum up donations and membership by appealing to those "repelled" by him. He said Conservatives have also learned from other recent leadership races where name recognition has played a significant factor.

"We look south of the border at Mr. Trump, we look here in Canada at Justin Trudeau, on the front end of their campaigns people didn't take it seriously and they underestimated the value of starting the race with dramatically higher name recognition with average Canadians than other politicians," he said.