Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre's appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience this week was a political tour de force and an interview he should have done a year ago. If he had, he might be the prime minister today and not simply the leader of His Majesty's Official Opposition.
Canada's conservative politicians have deliberately avoided appearing on populist American broadcasts over fears fo being labeled "extreme" or "US-style" in their approach to policy.
Then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and current Prime Minister Mark Carney have both gotten a pass when they went on The Daily Show and received the sycophantic praise of the host and the applause of the crowd because Canada is so progressive with its "free" healthcare and woke thinking.
But Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, probably the most principled conservative to ever lead that party, refused invitations by Joe Rogan and Patrick Bet-David in the last federal election because his communications team thought it was too large a risk. It may have been a massive miscalculation, as Poilievre and the Conservatives narrowly lost that election to Carney and the Liberals.
President Donald Trump, who embraced social media and independent media as swiftly as these forces emerged to dominate the political scene, rarely turned down an interview on a conservative broadcast during the 2024 presidential election campaign. Poilievre turned them all down – probably because his campaign was being run by people – some of whom this writer knows – who don't understand that the age of the mainstream media is over. When asked about turning down a previous invitation from Rogan, Poilievre said he would never leave Canada during an election.
In the new interview, Poilievre demonstrated that he has learned his lesson and that he needs to follow his instincts and not always the stale advice of backroom advisors. In his interview with Rogan – the top-rated American podcast in Canada – Poilievre not only scored a political triumph, he arguably stole the show.
It wasn't just that Rogan was friendly towards Poilievre— he was positively giddy about having him on the show.
"Well, I'm really excited to have you in here, because I've seen you speak multiple times, and you're a very reasonable, intelligent person. That makes a lot of sense, and it's rare in politics. And I love Canada, like I just say I don't go up there anymore, but it's because I think the government went horribly wrong over the last, you know, X amount of years. But the people are amazing. I've always said that Canada is like America with like 20% less assholes."
Canadians have become accustomed to being dismissed by their American cousins as being pathetic nice guys who finish last. With that comment, Rogan put a whole different spin on things.
The interview ranged from talking about Canada's euthanasia program – euphemistically named Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)— to a long discussion on martial arts and the UFC. These may be favourite topics for Rogan, but Poilievre probably shocked even his most ardent fans with his knowledge of the most arcane details of kick-boxing and ju-jitsu, while revealing an almost encyclopedic awareness of martial arts icon Bruce Lee. The two discussed the fight ring for over 40 minutes, during which Poilievre became the interviewer and began asking Rogan the questions.
It may well have been a transformational experience for Poilievre, who has been routinely labeled by Canadian liberals as someone with no interests outside of politics and certainly not in UFC.
In a seminal moment of the interview, Poilievre actually reiterated – probably for the first time – a theme he had first invoked in December 2024, when he spoke hypothetically of founding the "Mind Your Own Business Party."
It gave Poilievre a decidedly libertarian bent, but he went even further in his dialogue with Rogan.
"I really view the world of our Parliament as one that limits the power of government, to maximize the power of the people. Make people bigger, stronger, and more fulfilled by having the government narrowly focus on the things it's supposed to do: roads, military, basic, social safety, net, borders, police, etc, but then leave people alone to live their lives. If I were to start a political party from scratch, it would be the Mind Your Own Damn Business Party – you know, just get the government to do its job well, do four or five things really well, and then let people live their lives."
Throughout the two-and-a-half-hour discussion, Poilievre promoted Canadian goods and services, slammed tariffs, gently dismissed Trump's repeated claims that Canada should be the "51st state," encouraged exercise, and waxed eloquent about steak.
"Beef is like a superfood: a nice, fatty piece of beef. Best thing you can eat."
Rogan didn't seem to want the interview to end as Poilievre concluded, "It's a privilege to do this work, and I consider it very humbling, and I'm very proud to be Canadian and to take the message of Canada here to our American friends."
"Well, I'm glad you're here doing that, and I think this is going to have a big impact. I really hope it moves the needle up in Canada, absolutely," Rogan said. "And down here, we've got to get these tariffs gone. Yeah, get the tariffs gone. Well, let's work it out … And if you win, I'm coming up there, I promise."
