OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre sat down for an interview with “The Joe Rogan Experience” for a podcast episode set to be released Thursday afternoon.
A spokesperson for Poilievre said he and Rogan recorded a full-length episode, which can run upwards of three hours.
Poilievre said Thursday morning that he used the podcast to argue that the United States should remove tariffs on Canadian sectors like steel, automobiles, aluminum and lumber.
“I thought we had a great conversation about how the United States would be best served by eliminating all the tariffs so that we can make life safer and more affordable for Americans and make paycheques bigger and our economy stronger for Canadians,” Poilievre said during a press conference in New York City.
A memo sent to Conservatives by Steve Outhouse, Poilievre’s campaign manager, says this 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.
Prime Minister Mark Carney soft-launched his Liberal leadership campaign with an appearance on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” last year.
Former cabinet minister Chrystia Freeland has appeared on “Real Time with Bill Maher” and sat down for an interview with him during her Liberal leadership campaign.
Poilievre recorded the episode while in Austin, Texas, where he also met with Governor 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 Poilievre was asked why he chose to appear on Rogan’s show now — and not during last year’s election campaign — he said he’s using the show to make a case for dropping U.S. tariffs.
Rogan occasionally comments on Canadian politics. He criticized former prime minister Justin Trudeau for invoking the Emergencies Act to end the “Freedom Convoy” trucker protest.
He 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.
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 U.S. President Donald 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 Senator Rand Paul, actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and fellow standup comedians Bert Kreischer and Whitney Cummings.
Poilievre is also scheduled to make a keynote address at the Harvard Club in New York on Thursday before he returns to Ottawa.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 19, 2026.
David Baxter, The Canadian Press
