Pierre Poilievre: Leader of Canada's Conservative Party and the official opposition (His Majesty's Loyal Opposition). A long-serving free-market conservative MP seen as a likely contender for prime minister.
What this episode covers
Pierre Poilievre joins Steven Bartlett for a wide-ranging conversation on geopolitics and Canadian policy. He argues the United States is making a strategic error by going it alone and pushing away natural allies like Canada, framing Canada's vast oil and mineral reserves as leverage. He lays out his economic philosophy rooted in Adam Smith and small government, blaming monetary inflation, bureaucracy and slow building permits for Canada's housing and affordability crisis. The talk moves through immigration, AI-driven job disruption, the Iran conflict, and the rise of China. Poilievre also opens up personally about being adopted, his stoic outlook, and raising his non-verbal autistic daughter Valentina.
Recommended on this episode
Destined for War (the Thucydides Trap)
Graham Allison
“there is an incredible book called Thusidities Trap which a professor named Allison said that throughout history he took I think 20 occasions”— Pierre Poilievre
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
“it's it's a great book. The amazing thing about it is it's so readable.”— Pierre Poilievre
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Adam Smith
“One of the books that I realized you'd read at that time from some research is this book Adam Smith the theory of moral sentiments.”— Steven Bartlett
The Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith
“this book has to be accompanied by its more famous sister book which is the wealth of nations which that's the book that most people know Adam Smith for.”— Pierre Poilievre
Big reveals from this episode
- Calls Trump's go-it-alone foreign policy and tariffs on allies like Canada 'a very big strategic mistake.'
- States flatly that Iran's only reason for enriching uranium is to build a weapon and that any action to stop it is justified.
- Admits he has never met or spoken to Trump, and refuses to criticize PM Carney mid-negotiation to avoid undermining Canada.
- Reveals he was put up for adoption at 16 by his biological mother and raised, with his half-brother, by two schoolteachers.
- Discusses his adoptive father coming out as gay after a devout Catholic upbringing and how it shaped his views on love and acceptance.
- Says Canada grew its money supply 100% in 10 years while housing stock grew only 13%, fueling the affordability crisis.
- Concedes his election lead collapsed as the Trump tariff/'51st state' issue shifted the campaign and helped the incumbent Liberals.
- Opens up about his seven-year-old non-verbal autistic daughter Valentina and planning for her future.
Worth remembering
- Canada holds the world's fourth-largest oil reserves and sells to US refineries at a steep discount.
- Poilievre brands Canada a 'resource superpower' in oil and strategic minerals to be used as geopolitical leverage.
- Argues modern systems are 'socialism for the very rich,' redistributing wealth up the chain via the Cantillon effect.
- Claims Canada is the most expensive G7 country to own a home despite having the most land per person.
- Says Canada fell from 5th to 25th in world happiness rankings, partly due to the worst food inflation in the G7.
- Holds up Switzerland and Singapore as small-government, free-enterprise models, noting Singapore even imports its water.
- Cites an Anthropic report showing roughly a 14% rise in youth unemployment as AI displaces entry-level white-collar jobs.
- Describes an AI agent ('open claw') that found his LA house on Google Maps and autonomously bought and ordered a patio umbrella on Amazon.
- Notes Canada has about 20,000 immigrant doctors and 32,000 immigrant nurses barred from practicing by licensing rules.
- Reads Marcus Aurelius's 'Meditations' aloud and credits stoicism for his focus on what he can control.