The Liberal candidate for Calgary Confederation, Thomas Keeper, once cited U.S. President Donald Trump as a business inspiration.
Keeper, who is a real estate agent by profession, wrote in a 2011 blog post that he looked “to Donald Trump for inspiration in business.”
Keeper was writing about a change in the branding of his business and discussed his business idol’s own practices when it came to real estate.
The Blogger post was titled “Who is Donald Trump after 35 years?”
“I look to Donald Trump a lot for inspiration in business, but this is one area where I think he’s made a mistake,” wrote Keeper.
“He’s been advertising his own name for years; what happens when he’s gone? He should have created a name, different from his own, that was based on an idea.”
Keeper’s former writing stands in contrast with the Liberal Party’s stance on Trump, whom they have frequently criticized. The former U.S. president’s trade tariffs and rhetoric on annexation have been used by Liberals in an attempt to tarnish the federal Conservatives by trying to link Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to Trump.
However, in a recent Fox News interview with Laura Ingraham, Trump distanced himself from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, saying he would “rather deal with a Liberal than a Conservative” in Canada. Trump also claimed Poilievre was “no friend” of his and that it would be “easier” to work with Liberal leader Mark Carney.
Poilievre has publicly pushed back against Trump’s tariffs and rhetoric about Canada being annexed through economic force. The Conservative leader also pointed to Mark Carney’s financial holdings with Brookfield Asset Management as a potential weakness for Carney. Additionally, Carney was in a leadership position at the company when it decided to move its headquarters to New York City when the tariffs were first announced.
Keeper has also drawn attention for undergoing a controversial limb-lengthening surgery to increase his height, which he openly discussed with British media.
The Counter Signal founder Keean Bexte recently attempted to question Keeper at his campaign office in Calgary. During the incident, Keeper reportedly locked himself inside his office and called the police on Bexte.
True North did not receive a reply after reaching out to Keeper for comment.