Businessman Kevin O’Leary announced this morning that he is officially throwing his hat in the ring to become the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

O’Leary joins 13 other candidates vying for the position, including MPs Kellie Leitch, Maxime Bernier and Steven Blaney.

Speaking to CP24 Wednesday, O’Leary said if elected, he plans to scrap all of the current Liberal government’s policies on taxation and carbon pricing.

“The country has to be competitive,” he said.

“We are grinding to a halt with his (Justin Trudeau’s) policies.”

He slammed the Liberals on government spending, adding that he will not allow massive deficits to continue.

“I was optimistic like everybody else that he (Justin Trudeau) was going to balance the budget in 2019 and only put us $10 billion in debt. He just told me that we are going to be $1.5 trillion,” O’Leary said.

“I’m not going to let that happen. That’s not going to happen to our country.”

In a written statement issued Wednesday, O’Leary said he believes he is the only one who can beat Trudeau in the next election.

“He’s lucky he is going to meet me and I’ll tell you why. I am going to help him find his ultimate destiny because it is not running this country, that’s for sure,” O’Leary told CP24.

“Justin Trudeau is going to elect Kevin O’Leary.”

The former ‘Dragons’ Den’ judge, who does not speak French, denied suggestions that he chose to enter the race today to avoid participation in the French-language debate Tuesday night.

O’Leary went on to say he believes there are too many candidates for the debates to be effective.

“What is the point of putting 13 people on a stage and giving 20 seconds to debate really important issues that Canadians should hear about,” he said.

“Whether it is in French or English, the format does not serve the country or the candidates.”

O’Leary said he is committed to learn how to speak French proficiently and is taking steps to accomplish that goal.

“I’m doing the work and the way I’m going to do it is I’m asking my business associates to force me to only speak French during the business day because I need to converse in the language of commerce,” he added.

The businessman also dismissed comparisons that have been made between him and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

“The only commonality I have with Donald Trump is that we both worked for Mark Burnett and we both got famous on reality television. That’s it,” he said.

“I’m the son of a Lebanese- Irish immigrant. There are no walls in my world. I wouldn’t live here. I wouldn’t be here if there was a wall.”