he still thought he could win the leadership election, a lack of support in Quebec meant that it would be difficult for him to beat Trudeau in 2019, and it would thus be "selfish" of him to continue. On dropping out, he endorsed Bernier, another frontrunner for the position. (Andrew Scheer eventually won the leadership election, narrowly edging out Bernier.) Political positions Economy and trade O'Leary supports multilateral free trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement. He described hypothetical trade negotiations between Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau as "Godzilla versus Bambi". O'Leary believes corporate tax rates in Canada are too high, and has promised to eliminate the national carbon tax. O'Leary has threatened to punish provinces by withholding transfer payments if they do not eliminate their respective carbon taxes. O'Leary is a critic of deficit spending and supports eliminating the national debt. O'Leary opposes control of the CRTC over Canada's telecommunications system. Energy O'Leary supports building a pipeline from the Athabasca oil sands to Eastern Canada with the intentions of making Canada "energy independent". He has criticized Canada's reliance on Saudi Arabia for oil and gas. He has stated he would support a national referendum on the issue of pipelines. Social O'Leary describes his social policies as "very liberal". He supports same-sex marriage and transgender rights. O'Leary supports the legalization and regulation of marijuana. O'Leary supported assisted suicide and cited Switzerland as a model for Canada to follow. Foreign and military policy O'Leary supported ending Canadian airstrikes on ISIS and supports taking a peacekeeping role in the Syrian Civil War. O'Leary described Russia as "neither an ally or a foe" in an interview with the CBC. O'Leary has criticized Justin Trudeau's procurement plan. He supports purchasing aerial combat drones to defend Canadian airspace and supports phasing out use of the Lockheed CP-140 Aurora citing cost reasons. He has criticized the lack of funding of the Canadian Armed Forces and supports spending the NATO recommended 2% of GDP on military expenditures. Immigration O'Leary has proposed creating a "fast track" for citizenship for immigrants who graduate from college or university and find employment, as well as for their spouses and children. O'Leary has advocated for increased border security in order to tackle the issue of irregular border crossing. Senate In a 2017 interview with Evan Solomon, O'Leary suggested that Senators should pay money every year, instead of being paid,