Kevin O'Leary Highlights The U.S.-Canada Trade Relationship

Kevin O'Leary is best known for being one of the "Shark Tank" investors but hopes to soon be known as the Prime Minister of Canada.

O'Leary announced in early January he is running for the leadership of the Conservative party with the objective of defeating the current Liberal government run by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Canada And The United States

Needless to say, one of the most pressing issues in U.S. politics these days is the relationship with Mexico. But what about the United States' relationship with Canada? This was the topic of conversation during CNBC's "Halftime Report" segment on Friday with O'Leary himself.

O'Leary stated that a total of 38 different U.S. states count Canada as their No. 1 trading partner. In addition, the Canadian market is responsible for maintaining nine million jobs in the United States.

"This is a relationship that I don't think we are going to be messing around with," O'Leary said. "It's too big."

O'Leary continued that Canada shares the largest peaceful border in the planet with the United States and is perhaps the oldest ally.

Keystone XL Pipeline

O'Leary stated that the most optimistic improvement in the Canada and U.S. relationship could come from the recently approved Keystone XL pipeline.

Specifically, O'Leary suggested that the Obama administration has been "screwing around" with the pipeline project, which cost Canadian investors billions of dollars.

'Let's Dance'

Finally, O'Leary is being touted by some as "Canada's Donald Trump" given a similar rise to politics. But, O'Leary isn't intimidated by President Trump and is more than willing to sit down and re-negotiate the NAFTA trade deal.

"I'm ready to go," O'Leary proclaimed. "Let's dance."

Image Credit: Provided by and used with expressed permission from Kevin O'Leary.