Pierre Poilievre and Joe Rogan spent more than two hours talking about mixed martial arts, exercise, COVID-19 restrictions and nutrition — and a little bit of politics.
Poilievre sat down for an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast amid a mini U.S. tour of Michigan, Texas and New York — his second international trip as leader of the opposition this year.
The podcast has a wide reach, routinely topping download charts and boasting more than 20.8 million subscribers on YouTube alone. Poilievre told reporters in New York Thursday that he used the opportunity to make the case that U.S. President Donald Trump should drop his tariff war against Canada.
“There’s so much we could be doing together as neighbours and partners if we got rid of those tariffs,” Poilievre told the comedian and podcaster.
“What are the biggest problems in America today? Affordability, security. And we can help with both (if) we knock the tariffs down.”
Poilievre pointed to his desire to ship more Canadian oil to the U.S., the country’s abundance of critical minerals crucial to American manufacturing, and softwood lumber that could be used to build homes.
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“I think it’s in America’s interest to come towards a tariff-free deal and trade freely as friends, and that will be good for us.”
When Rogan asked if he had spoken to Trump about this, Poilievre said no — that he believes Prime Minister Mark Carney should speak for the country in negotiations with the U.S. president.
In fact, Poilievre was reserved when speaking about the Liberal governments of both Carney and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — saying he wouldn’t criticize the prime minister while on foreign soil.
“That’s such a Canadian thing to do,” Rogan quipped.
But aside from tariffs, rehashing his campaign pitch and explaining the Canadian political system to the American podcaster, the conversation largely featured long discussions about mixed martial arts, the importance of physical exercise and nutrition tips.
Rogan is a significant figure in the podcasting world. Rogan bills himself as a comedian, but his podcast has significant reach and, therefore, political clout — he’s been critical of COVID-19 restrictions and vaccines, was seen to back Trump, and recently had U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the show.
Rogan has occasionally been critical of the Trump administration, notably recently in response to the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
In a May 6, 2025, episode of the show, Rogan said Poilievre declined a previous invitation to be on the show because the Conservative leader’s advisers concluded it would be “too problematic, or whatever.”
With files from the Canadian Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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