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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre laughed off a conspiracy theory about Justin Trudeau in the opening minutes of his 2.5-hour sit-down with podcaster Joe Rogan, where he made a case for Canadians being America’s nice-guy neighbours.
While talking about his early interest in politics, Poilievre mentioned that he read a biography of Fidel Castro.
“Justin’s dad!” Rogan interjected.
The Conservative leader shook his head and laughed, “No, no, not Justin’s dad,” adding later that it’s “a hell of a (conspiracy theory). I don’t think it’s a true one though.”
Poilievre’s interview with “The Joe Rogan Experience” was released Thursday afternoon. The Conservative leader appeared on the show in his typical navy suit but sounded more laid back than usual — and even swore occasionally.
The pair spent a significant amount of time chatting about mixed martial arts, workouts and clean eating, and Poilievre gave Rogan a crash course in Canada’s Westminster system of government.
Rogan frequently brought up the ways in which he believes the Trudeau government “went horribly wrong.” He cited the “Freedom Convoy” protest and Canada’s medical assistance in dying laws — which he called “insane.”
Poilievre said that while he believes “people should have the choice,” he does not support MAID for children or people whose sole condition is a mental illness, and government workers shouldn’t offer MAID to people who are struggling.
He agreed when Rogan argued that physical activity “is much more effective than antidepressants” for mental illness.
The Tory leader largely avoided wading into controversy, steering clear of Rogan’s musings about what would have happened if U.S. President Donald Trump hadn’t threatened to annex Canada during last spring’s election. Poilievre later told the host he would not criticize Prime Minister Mark Carney “on foreign soil,” citing their mutual respect.
“I believe in the rule of ‘one prime minister at a time,’” he said. “I fought like hell to win. I didn’t win. We came very close. So I’ve said, ‘listen, I’ll leave it to the prime minister to do the negotiating.’”
“Even in my visit down here, I’m sending (Carney) text messages to tell him what’s going on, try and support his work,” Poilievre also said. “Because we both want what’s best for Canada.”
“That’s such a Canadian thing to do,” Rogan said.
‘Knock that sh– off’ on 51st state
Fairly early in the interview, Rogan asked about Poilievre’s 2025 federal election loss, saying: “There’s a narrative in America, and the narrative is that you were about to win and your party was about to win.”
But then, he added Trump “came along and said he was going to turn Canada into the 51st state and everybody went crazy.”
Rogan asked Poilievre if that was accurate, and Poilievre said he wouldn’t say Canadians went crazy, and they should have been upset.
“It’s a crazy thing to say, Canada is not for sale,” Poilievre said. “We’re never going to be the 51st state. You know, we love Americans as neighbours and friends, but we want to be sovereign as Canadians.”
“You’re a patriot as an American, I’m a patriot as a Canadian … So we’re never going to be the 51st state,” he continued, before dropping a line that’s sure to get some traction.
“I just wish you’d knock that s— off so that we can get back to talking about the things that we can do as two separate countries that are actually friends,” he said.
Also asked whether the comments had an effect and whether Canadians take Trump seriously, Poilievre said he initially thought it was a joke. The two then agreed Canada becoming the 51st state, is “not a good idea.”
Poilievre later confirmed — after speaking at length about the impact U.S. tariffs are having and how he thinks a tariff-free deal would benefit both nations — that he has not personally spoken to Trump about the trade war.
Poilievre laid out why Americans should not support Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods. He said he’s willing to support Carney in any way he can in the trade negotiations with the Trump administration and that he’s been texting the prime minister throughout his U.S. trip this week.
At several points in the podcast, Poilievre also laid out his policy priorities, saying one of them would be to “unblock” Canada’s resources if he were to become prime minister.
He also made an argument for Alberta’s oilsands as “the best industry, the most responsible industry anywhere in the world.” He told Rogan the oilsands sector was the victim of a “really disgusting PR campaign by extremist environmentalists” and that “First Nations people absolutely love it.”
After hearing Poilievre’s pitch for cutting bureaucracy and approving permits to speed up resource development, Rogan said, “It seems so simple the way you’re laying it out. I don’t understand why this hasn’t been implemented.”
“Yeah,” Poilievre replied. “This is the story of my life, it’s frustrating.”
The decision to appear on Rogan’s show has drawn criticism. A memo sent to Conservatives by Steve Outhouse, Poilievre’s campaign manager, said the interview is part of a broader media strategy.
“In his interview with Canadian newscaster Peter Mansbridge two weeks ago, Pierre made it clear he would be speaking out on all sorts of issues to both traditional and new media outlets to broaden the audience he is connecting with,” Outhouse wrote.
Outhouse’s memo says Poilievre is looking to attract Canadian and international audiences.
It’s not uncommon to see Canadian politicians appear on American programs.
Carney soft-launched his Liberal leadership campaign with an appearance on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” last year.
Poilievre recorded the episode while in Austin, Texas, where he also met with Gov. Greg Abbott.
In a May 6, 2025, episode of his podcast, Rogan said he’d invited Poilievre on the show previously but the offer was declined because the Conservative leader’s advisers concluded it would be “too problematic, or whatever.”
When Rogan raised that during the interview, Poilievre said “we just don’t leave the country during election campaigns.”
Rogan has spoken positively about Poilievre. In a 2024 episode featuring Canadian comedian Tom Green, he said the Conservative leader offered “common sense” rebuttals to the “nonsense” under Trudeau.
In the episode’s final minutes, Rogan said he would vote for Poilievre if he was Canadian and promised to visit if Poilievre wins the next election.
“I love Canada,” he said.
Rogan’s podcast routinely tops the Spotify charts and has 20.8 million subscribers on YouTube.
While Rogan has attracted controversy over the years over his stance on COVID-19 vaccinations and his endorsement of Trump, he has criticized some Trump administration policies and has compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics to those of the Gestapo.
His podcast routinely draws high-profile names. Recent guests have included political figures like U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican Sen. Rand Paul, actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and fellow standup comedians Bert Kreischer and Whitney Cummings.
Poilievre also made a keynote address at the Harvard Club in New York on Thursday before his return to Ottawa.
His speech on the future of Canada-U.S. relations echoed talks he’s given in Toronto, London and Berlin in recent weeks.
Poilievre said he was there to “make the case for Canada” and also for the U.S., talking about the shared military history of the two countries and the long-standing economic ties.
“Instead of treating each other as rivals, Canada and the U.S. should look at the big picture. The real threats to our economies and to our security come, not from each other, but from Beijing, from Moscow, from Tehran and from their proxies,” he said.
He again rejected the notion that the “very real problems” in the relationship right now mark its permanent end, and called for an end to tariffs.
“Canada can help you solve your biggest challenges in America: affordability for your citizens and safety in a dangerous world,” he said.
In a discussion onstage after his speech, Poilievre was asked what his “elevator pitch” would be to convince Trump to drop the tariffs.
“One word: leverage,” Poilievre said, adding that Canada has critical minerals, resources and energy, and plans to spend massive amounts on defence procurements that could go to U.S. companies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 19, 2026.
David Baxter and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press
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